Procurement Exclusion Update: Bain & Company

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)]

In August 2022, Bain & Company and its global affiliates were excluded from bidding for UK Government business. Following the decision, Bain & Company has co-operated with our investigations and provided considerable additional information on its self-cleansing actions. It has also agreed to a period of rigorous monitoring for a minimum of two years, during which its continued compliance will be assessed. Given the progress made since the exclusion, we can confirm that although Bain & Company South Africa Inc. will remain excluded from UK Government business, Bain & Company Inc. and its affiliates outside South Africa are no longer excluded from bidding for Government work.

Following robust and intensive dialogue with Bain & Company since the exclusion decision was made in August, which has received the full co-operation from the company, we have concluded that Bain & Company Inc. and its affiliates outside South Africa, including both Bain & Company Inc. United Kingdom and BuyingTeam Ltd—trading as Proxima—can bid for UK Government work.

Since the exclusion decision in August 2022, Bain & Company has responded by producing detailed evidence of the measures it has taken internally—including related to the way Bain & Company handles bids for UK Government work—which was not available to the Cabinet Office previously.

This decision is subject to a regular and thorough period of close monitoring, for a minimum of two years, so that we can be satisfied that the company continues to uphold the measures it has now put in place.

During the monitoring period, Bain & Company has agreed that it will engage further with the Cabinet Office to provide evidence that its governance, organisation and internal processes are now working, and will continue to work, as they should do to prevent anything similar happening again.

Bain & Company South Africa Inc. remains excluded from bidding for UK Government procurements until 4 January 2025, given the findings of the Zondo Commission on its prior involvement with the South African Revenue Service. Bain & Company South Africa has acknowledged that it did not fully clarify the facts and circumstances regarding its work for the South African Revenue Service in a comprehensive manner.

Bain & Company has previously apologised for the fact that Bain & Company South Africa’s work in South Africa contributed to damaging a critical public institution and acknowledged that its co-operation with investigating authorities fell short.

We will review any new information that comes to light, including as a result of any potential reconsideration by the South African Government of their decision to ban Bain & Company South Africa.

Bain & Company has welcomed this robust external challenge, to help ensure that going forward its governance is of a consistently high standard, that the self-cleansing actions put in place are operational and that any new issues arising are being managed and communicated transparently.

We strongly condemn corporate malpractice and will not hesitate to exclude suppliers should they be found not to be upholding the highest standards.

[HCWS658]