Questions have been raised by Labour after it was revealed that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has shares in a family company which has contracts with the NHS.
Mr Hancock declared in the MPs’ register of interests in March of this year that he now owns shares in company Topwood Limited, which specialises in secure storage, shredding and scanning of documents.
The Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported that the firm, which is owned by his sister, won a place on a framework to provide services to the English NHS in 2019, as well as contracts with the NHS in Wales.
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It also reported that the Health Secretary did not declare his connection to the company in the relevant register of interests, a claim which has been rejected by the Government adding that the Health Secretary had acted “entirely properly in these circumstances”.
Here we take a look at Topwood Ltd, what it does and how it works
Where is it based?
Tophill is based in Wrexham and specialises in the secure storage, shredding and scanning of documents. In 2019, it moved from Cheshire to open a new high security shred centre and storage facility on Wrexham Industrial Estate serving Wrexham, the North West and North Wales.
What does it do?
Topwood shreds and recycles more than 30 tonnes of documents every week with more enabled by the the expansion into its high security facility in Wrexham.
It also provides secure data storage.
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It has seen an increased demand for its services since the GDPR act came into force and has seen greater interest in its onsite shredding service. It has a trained workforce that uses machinery in custom trucks that that can shred confidential documents into pieces the size of a pinhead.
Who operates Topwood?
According to , the directors of the company are Tom Gilruth, a logistics manager and Emily Gilruth, an equine trainer. Mr Gilruth is Managing Director of the business, acccording to the Topwood website.
Companies House also lists shareholders which include Tom and Emily Gilruth and
What work does it do for the NHS and other public bodies?
In February 2020, – to supply confidential shredding services in North West England, West Midlands and Wales. This framework aims to provide 海角视频 Public Sector Bodies a quick procurement solution for good and services such as document destruction and media shredding.
Topwood says on its website that it is a supplier within the ESPO and Shared Business Services NHS frameworks for the provision of secure shredding and disposal services and has to adhere to certain requirements and accreditations.
Legislative requirements include being GDPR compliant on-site shredding services and having up to £10,000,000 Public & Products Liability, Employers Liability and £2,000,000 Professional Indemnity insurance.
A Government spokeswoman told PA that neither Mr Hancock or his department had any involvement in awarded contracts. She said: “Mr Hancock has acted entirely properly in these circumstances. All declarations of interest have been made in accordance with the ministerial code.
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“Ministers have no involvement in the awarding of these contracts, and no conflict of interest arises.”
Who are its other clients?
The Tophill website displays the logos of its clients including NHS, Kelloggs, The National Trust, Probation Service and Welsh Water.