The International Development Secretary Priti Patel today announced a bold plan for tough reform of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) work with suppliers, by clamping down on the risk of profiteering, excessive charges and unscrupulous practices.

Following a fundamental review of DFID’s work with suppliers, Ms Patel is introducing stricter new rules that will ensure all contractors deliver the best possible results for the world’s poorest people and provide value for taxpayers’ money, with the threat of legal repercussions for those who break the rules.

New measures announced today include:

• a robust new Code of Conduct which is leading the way across government to ensure the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour by DFID suppliers, with legally enforceable sanctions – such as ending contracts early – for those caught breaking the rules by our new compliance team

• tougher scrutiny of costs and greater transparency by including new clauses in contracts to allow DFID to inspect costs, overheads, fees and profits of suppliers in detail and new powers to intervene to tackle profiteering and cut out waste

• publishing annual league tables of supplier performance to name and shame those who are not delivering value for money

• stopping so-called “bid candy” practices, by which large suppliers include smaller businesses to win bids, but then drop them from the contract

• cutting red tape to boost competition and open up DFID’s market to new businesses including small enterprises in the UK and the world’s poorest countries.

The International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

These tough reforms provide a clear message to aid suppliers – any misuse of taxpayers’ money is a scandal that will not be tolerated.

DFID is leading the way across Government with new measures that will ensure aid is spent in the best way, with every single penny delivering value for money. New legal penalties allow us to take firm action against those who break the rules.

We will make the supplier market we work with more competitive and transparent, providing greater opportunities for new and smaller businesses in the UK and ensuring we work with those who can achieve the best results that UK taxpayers and the world’s poorest deserve.

These reforms will ensure that every DFID contractor upholds the highest standards and is held to account for meeting them. They enable DFID to be smart and tough with its big suppliers and give more opportunities to new and smaller businesses in the UK and the poorest countries.

Aid contractors play an important role in development work when they deliver well. They provide specialist expertise, flexibility and deliver UK aid’s life-changing work in some of the most fragile and dangerous places in the world.

Note to Editors

1. In December 2016, the International Development Secretary announced a fundamental review of DFID’s management of its contracted suppliers, to ensure the highest standards of ethical behaviour and protect against any possibility of profiteering by suppliers. This review has now concluded.
2. The International Development Secretary has published an open letter to suppliers today setting out these tough new reforms, as well as a new code of conduct for suppliers and DFID staff.
3. DFID has already introduced new contract terms and conditions to apply to all new procurement tenders and extensions from September 1 2017. From today, we will begin to renegotiate existing contracts in line with these changes, focusing on our existing major, high-value contracts. These are contracts individually totalling over £20 million, which account for a third of the overall value of DFID’s contracts and are delivered by our 30 biggest suppliers.
4. We will continue to roll out these tough new reforms to Civil Society Organisations funded by Accountable Grants over the coming months.
5. New clauses in supplier contracts include Open Book Accounting clauses allowing DFID to inspect costs, overheads and fees of suppliers in detail, and clauses giving DFID the power to intervene to prevent profiteering – both policed by a rolling programme of compliance checks.
6. As part of its wider international development reform agenda set out in the Multilateral Development Review, DFID will press multilateral development organisations to adopt similar measures.
7. As a demonstration of the important work DFID has been undertaking in recent months, the Department has been awarded the 2017 Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Annual Award for ‘Best Contribution to the Reputation of the Procurement Profession’.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced wide-ranging reforms to increase nurse training places and retain staff.

A 25% increase in training posts for nurses is part of a range of measures to:

• ensure the NHS meets current and future nursing workforce needs
• improve working conditions
• provide new routes into the profession

The government will provide funding for the clinical placements required for an additional 5,170 pre-registration nurse degrees from 2018. This builds on the commitment to 10,000 more training places for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals announced in August this year.

Nursing associates

A further 5,000 nursing associates will be trained through the apprentice route in 2018, with an additional 7,500 being trained in 2019. Nursing associate is a new role which provides a work-based route into nursing for existing health and care staff or new recruits who may not be able to give up work to study full-time at university.

A new shortened nurse degree apprenticeship route will also be introduced for qualified nursing associates who wish to work towards full Nursing Midwifery Council registered nurse status.

As part of this expansion in nursing staff, we will explore opportunities for higher education institutes to deliver formal classroom teaching in a more innovative way in employers’ facilities. This training will not compromise on quality and will continue to meet the high standards expected of trainees by the nursing regulator, the Nursing Midwifery Council.

Increasing participation and social mobility

The measures are part of the government’s commitment to widen participation and social mobility throughout the health sector. They will also help to reduce the reliance on overseas recruitment by boosting the supply of home-grown nurses.

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health, said:

The NHS will be looking after a million more over-75s in just a decade, so we need to jump-start nurse training.

This represents the biggest increase in nurse training places in the history of the NHS – and we will make sure that many of the additional places go to healthcare assistants training on hospital sites. This will allow us to expand our nurse workforce with some highly experienced people already working on the NHS frontline.

We will also improve retention rates amongst our current workforce, introducing new arrangements to support flexible working available to all NHS staff, and a new right of first refusal for affordable housing built on NHS property. Combined with the 25% increase in undergraduate medical school places announced last year it will transform the ability of the NHS to cope with the pressures ahead.

Improving working conditions

As well as training more nurses, the Health Secretary announced new measures to improve working conditions for the NHS workforce, including:

• arrangements to support flexible working to help staff to balance work-life commitment.

• a system of staff banks for flexible workers across the NHS, increasing opportunities for NHS staff to work on NHS terms and reduce agency costs for employers

• a ‘Homes for Nurses’ scheme – which will give 3,000 NHS workers first refusal on affordable housing generated through the sale of surplus NHS land

Fraud is now the most prevalent crime in the United Kingdom. The annual Government Counter Fraud Awards recognise exceptional achievement and innovation in fighting fraud in the public sector. Entrants included counter fraud teams and individuals from across the UK public sector, including those working in local government and central government agencies and departments.

Our award was for the work we have done in raising awareness of how property fraud can occur, who is most at risk and what people can do to protect themselves. The awareness campaign focused on our free Property Alert service, encouraging people to sign up so they can receive an early warning of fraudulent activity on their property.

With minimal direct contact with citizens itself, HM Land Registry relies heavily on business customers such as conveyancers and estate agents to encourage their clients to sign up for Property Alert and read our fraud advice. In addition to making the public more aware of property fraud and how to protect themselves, our counter fraud team provides training to employees, law enforcement agencies and financial investigators in how to detect and prevent registered title fraud.

The judges said:

Property fraud is an area of significant risk and the campaign left no stone unturned in its efforts to raise awareness and engage citizens with its Property Alert service. They were astute in selecting the most effective, audience-appropriate channels and received justifiably very positive feedback for their efforts.

As a result of the increased numbers of people signing up to Property Alert in 2016/17, 100,000 more properties are better protected against fraud – an estimated £20 billion worth of property assets based on the average house price of £200,000.

2015 – presentGuatemala City, Her Majesty’s Ambassador2012 – 2015FCO, Deputy Head, Consular Assistance Department2012FCO, Silver lead, FCO 2012 Olympics Coordination Centre2012Lilongwe, Acting British High Commissioner2008 – 2012Lusaka, British High Commissioner (job-share with his wife)2003 – 2008Bratislava, Deputy Head of Mission (job-share with his wife)2004Phuket (Thailand), British Embassy Tsunami Crisis Office1999 – 2003Bangkok, Head of Political Section1997 – 1999FCO, Head of South Pacific Section, Far Eastern and Pacific Department1995 – 1997FCO, Head of Multilateral and Central Asia Section, Eastern Department1990 – 1995Bonn, First Secretary1990Paris, First Secretary1988 – 1989FCO, Desk Officer, Central Africa Department1987 – 1988FCO, Private Secretary to Political Director1986UK Mission to UN, New York, Committee Support Officer1983 – 1986Bogota, Second Secretary1979 – 1982Paris, Third Secretary1978 – 1979Ecole Nationale d’Administration, Paris1977 – 1978FCO, Desk Officer, Southern Africa Department1976 – 1977FCO, Visits Officer, Information Administration Department1976Joined FCO

2015 – present Guatemala City, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Honduras (based in Guatemala City) 2012 – 2015 FCO, Deputy Head, Climate Change and Energy Department 2008 – 2012 Lusaka, British High Commissioner (job share with her husband) 2003 – 2008 Bratislava, Deputy Head of Mission (job share with her husband) 2000 – 2002 Bangkok, Senior Public Diplomacy Officer 1999 FCO, Deputy Head, Cultural Relations Department 1999 FCO, Project Officer, Personnel Department 1998 – 1999 Maternity leave 1997 – 1998 FCO, Assistant Private Secretary, Minister for Europe’s office 1995 – 1997 FCO, Desk Officer, Southern European Department 1993 – 1995 Bonn, Third Secretary Science and Technology 1993 Brussels, Stage at the European Commission 1990 – 1992 Tokyo, Private Secretary to the Ambassador 1988 – 1989 Tokyo, Economic Attaché 1987 – 1988 Language training (Japanese) 1986 – 1987 FCO, Visa Officer, Migration and Visa Department 1986 Joined FCO