This only concerns the costs that have already been incurred in 2021, says a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health. “Information about the costs of this survey relating to 2022 will be included in the 2022 annual report.” They will therefore only be made public next year.
The ministry does not want to say anything about the total budget or money that has been spent this year on the investigation, which started in mid-2021. It also does not want to say anything about the rates charged by the forensic accountants at Deloitte. “That is part of contractual agreements with Deloitte,” said the spokesperson, who states that the information is therefore company confidential.
Irritation about delays
There is a lot to do in The Hague about the Deloitte investigation into the mouth mask deal. There is irritation in the House about the repeated delays that the investigation has incurred in recent months.
During the marathon debate about the face masks deal last week, in which Minister Conny Helder (Long-term Care) repeatedly indicated that he could not provide a factual account of the deal until the Deloitte investigation is completed, coalition parties VVD, D66 and CDA submitted a motion that again urged the government. The heart is pressing to have the partial report on the deal with Van Lienden really delivered before the summer. However, no guarantee can be given for this, according to the ministry. Much depends on how far Deloitte gets, and the “cooperation and response speed of the actors involved.”
‘For the summer’
During a technical briefing last week, forensic accountants from Deloitte also expressed the hope that it will work before the summer, but also said that they cannot promise anything. Among other things, some 5.5 million documents have to be analysed. “We’re aiming for the speed you want, but we can’t make any concessions,” said lead researcher Gerrie Lenting. The researchers depend, among other things, on the availability of information and on the voluntary cooperation of the people and authorities involved.
The delivery of that part of the study has already been delayed five times. The first partial report should have been completed in September of last year, but that turned out to be unfeasible at the time because the scope of the study had been underestimated.
While the investigation is still ongoing, Deloitte will not share interim information with the House or with the client VWS, the company said during the technical briefing in the House. “It is already special that we report here in the interim to someone other than our client,” researchers said to MPs who complained about the lack of information.