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Corporate Travel Management

Volume 719: debated on Monday 5 September 2022

The petition of residents of the constituency of Linlithgow and East Falkirk,

Declares that the petitioners believe that the contract awarded by the UK Government to Corporate Travel Management (CTM) to coordinate the hotel quarantine programme avoided due process or competition; further that the UK Government failed in their duty to ensure that CTM had an adequate system in place to deal with customer payments and complaints around the operation of the quarantine hotel booking services; and notes that this has resulted in many travellers being unable to coordinate travel back to the UK when South Africa was moved onto the UK travel red list.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to commit to reallocate funding to recompense anyone who has lost out financially as a result of CTM’s handling of the quarantine hotel booking service when South Africa was moved onto the UK travel red list.

And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Martyn Day, Official Report, 24 May 2022; Vol. 715, c. 263.]

[P002734]

Observations from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup):

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the largest public procurement organisation in the UK, entered into a framework agreement with a number of suppliers, including Corporate Travel Management (CTM), who had been successful in a competitive tender process for the Public Sector Travel and Venue Solutions framework. Frameworks help public and third sector buyers to procure goods and services from a list of pre-approved suppliers, with agreed terms and conditions and legal protections. The agreement sets out the award and ordering procedure for customers to purchase the services listed, by entering into a separate 'call-off contract' with a particular supplier. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) entered into such a contract with CTM using a direct award under the framework.

CTM as DHSC’s travel services delivery partner entered into an enabling agreement on 13 November 2020. They are subsequently responsible for identifying and contracting with the individual hotels that support the Managed Quarantine Service (MQS).

This contract was varied on 6 February 2021 in order to incorporate the Government’s policy of international services involved in the MQS, pursuant to Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 under which contractual arrangements may be modified without a new procurement procedure.

Prior to implementing the variation, the UK government ensured that CTM administered a booking portal to accommodate payments using debit or credit cards. CTM also provides a call centre for travellers having difficulty, or who need additional assistance in making their booking. DHSC had weekly meetings with CTM's senior leadership where operational performance issues were discussed and escalated as appropriate. Performance against the contract was managed and assessed according to the contractual arrangements. Overall performance, including in relation to complaints, was discussed regularly between DHSC officials and CTM and any areas requiring improvement were addressed.

In addition to the web portal, CTM have a large international call centre which is able to assist guests to make their booking. The call centre is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has multilingual capability and the capacity to increase to meet demands.

There is no specific policy offering compensation for the cost of quarantine at short notice. If British residents returning to the United Kingdom from a “red list” country (there is currently no red list due to the relevant legislation no longer being in force) believed they suffered severe financial hardship as a result of paying the full cost of managed quarantine in advance, they may qualify for hardship arrangements. This includes repayment plans, where the fees are repaid in monthly instalments and, in exceptional circumstances, fee reductions and waivers may be granted. All eligibility criteria must be met to qualify for hardship arrangements.

Timeline for Managed Quarantine Service (MQS)

15-02-2021 - MQS was formed, DHSC held responsibility

25-03-2022 - MQS responsibility transferred to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)

Prior to the formation of MQS policies around travel to England from another country was owned by the Department for Transport and DHSC jointly