Recommendations & Conclusions
29 items
2
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
While government had plans and a stockpile of PPE, this proved inadequate for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department had a strategy for managing an influenza pandemic, which included a stockpile of PPE owned and managed by Public Health England. In March 2020, NHS England & NHS Improvement gave public assurances …
Government response. 3. PAC conclusion: HM Revenue & Customs breached its Net Cash Requirement by £726 million.
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The high-priority lane was not designed well enough to be a wholly effective way of sifting credible leads to supply PPE. Government’s PPE buying team, within the parallel supply chain, received over 15,000 offers to supply PPE. This cross- government PPE buying team set up a high-priority lane to separately …
Government response. 4. PAC conclusion: The Home Office breached its Net Cash Requirement by £118 million.
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department’s focus on supporting hospitals meant assistance to social care providers was neglected. The pandemic has shown the tragic impact of delaying much needed social care reform and treating the sector as the NHS’s poor relation. This is an issue this Committee has raised concerns about before when we …
Government response. 5. PAC conclusion: HM Treasury breached its Capital Annually Managed Expenditure total by £32 million. 2 4
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department does not know enough about the experience of frontline staff, particularly BAME staff. The Department set up a daily process for gathering information about the PPE required by local organisations and maintains that its formal reporting arrangements did not identify any provider organisation, in health or social care, …
Government response. 5.1 The government agrees with the recommendation. Target implementation date: July 2021 5.2 The government is committed to learning from the experience of frontline staff during the pandemic and the views and experiences of frontline workers are vital in shaping …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
We are concerned that the Department’s ordering of an enormous amount of PPE might compromise government’s ambition to maintain a UK manufacturing base for PPE. Between February and July 2020, the Department ordered 32 billion items of PPE. It intended to build up a stockpile that could last four months. …
Government response. 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end July 2021 6.2 On 28 September 2020, the government published its PPE Strategy: Stabilise and Build Resilience, which set out how the government was prepared for the second …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on PPE which is of poor quality and cannot be used for the intended purpose. The urgent need for PPE meant it accepted more risks when buying PPE than it usually would. At the time of our evidence session, some 195 …
Government response. 7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: July 2021 7.2 Processes are underway to review the quality of all the PPE the government has bought, which is on course to complete by the end of June …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
It should also update us on the number of contracts (and their financial value) in which it is seeking to recover costs for undelivered or substandard PPE. COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment 11 1 Government’s approach to procurement during the pandemic
Government response. 7.5 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: July 2021 7.6 Alongside the efforts to fully reconcile the total spend and receipt of high-quality PPE (set out in response to recommendation 7a), work is underway to identify …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
On the basis of two reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office, Department of Health & Social Care (the Department) and Public Health England about government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic and the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).1 As part of our …
Government response. 2. PAC conclusion: The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy breached its Resource Annually Managed Expenditure total by £4.9 billion.
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Access to the high-priority lane was based on recommendations coming from government officials, ministers’ offices, MPs and members of the House of Lords. The NAO found that there were no written rules which determined the basis on which suppliers should be recommended for the lane, meaning that it was left …
Government response. 3. 1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Ta rget implementation date: July 2021 3.2 The government has consistently stated that it will review its response to procurement during the pandemic and learn lessons from its response to this …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing told us that their organisations did not have access to the high-priority lane, even though they were being contacted by, and therefore would have been able to put forward, credible leads based on the knowledge of their members. The British …
Government response. 3: PAC conclusion: The high-priority lane was not designed well enough to be a wholly effecti ve way of sifting credible leads to supply PPE. 3: PAC recommendation: The Cabinet Office and the Department should by July 2021 publish the …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Between February and July 2020, the Department ordered 32 billion items of PPE. The Department told us that it was seeking to avoid shortages in the event of a potential second wave and had deliberately looked to build up a stockpile equivalent to four months’ usage across all lines of …
Government response. 2.2 The department purchased personal protective equipment (PPE) in line with modelled demand covering; all potential customer groups and relevant categories of PPE, worst-case scenario assumptions guidance. 2.3 The government has increased UK manufacturing capability so UK firms can meet …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Government’s PPE strategy aims to build a UK manufacturing base so that there is a resilient domestic supply. The Department explained that 70% of PPE (excluding gloves) that it expected would be supplied between December 2020 and February 2021 should come through contracts set up under the Department’s UK Make …
Government response. 6: PAC conclusion: We are concerned that the Department’s ordering of an enormous amount of PPE might compromise government’s ambition to maintain a UK manufacturing base for PPE. 6: PAC recommendation: The Department, working with other government departments where necessary, …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department asserted that while it had deliberately secured a significant stockpile of PPE, it was not clear it had over-ordered as the stock would be needed for the ongoing COVID crisis. It admitted that it did not have full information about how much PPE had been provided by suppliers …
Government response. 2.2 The department purchased personal protective equipment (PPE) in line with modelled demand covering; all potential customer groups and relevant categories of PPE, worst-case scenario assumptions guidance. 2.3 The government has increased UK manufacturing capability so UK firms can meet …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Not all of the PPE the Department bought can be used. The Department told us that only 0.5% of the 18 billion items of PPE it had received and checked so far had failed to meet clinical safety standards and therefore could not be used at all. However, this figure …
Government response. 7: PAC conclusion: The Department has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on PPE which is of poor quality and cannot be used for the intended purpose. 7a: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to the Committee by July 2021 …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department had not calculated the value of unusable or potentially unsuitable items but told us that it was currently undertaking work to estimate this and committed to coming back to us with a timetable for when this would be complete.24 It told us that it was investigating potential fraudulent …
Government response. 7b: PAC recommendation: The department should also update us on the number of contracts (and their financial value) in which it is seeking to recover costs for undelivered or substandard PPE. 7.5 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department accepted that the urgent need for PPE meant it accepted greater risks when buying PPE than it usually would. The Department maintained, however, that it did not ask the Health and Safety Executive to lower standards. It told us that it bought millions of FFP2 respirator masks which …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Government had a Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Programme and a stockpile of PPE for managing an influenza pandemic, but not a coronavirus pandemic (such as COVID-19). Public Health England told us this was because the national risk register identified an influenza pandemic as the number one risk. Public Health England owned …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: While government had plans and a stockpile of PPE, this proved inadeq uate for the COVID-19 pandemic. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department must improve its approach to managing and distributing stocks of PPE to ensure the correct …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
In March 2020, officials from NHS England & NHS Improvement publicly assured the Health and Social Care Select Committee that these stockpiles meant the country was well placed to manage the COVID19 pandemic. However, the NAO report found that the stockpiles provided no more than two-weeks’ worth of most types …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: While government had plans and a stockpile of PPE, this proved inadeq uate for the COVID-19 pandemic. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department must improve its approach to managing and distributing stocks of PPE to ensure the correct …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department told us that it had not been complacent over the stockpiles, but that COVID-19 was a novel virus and it learned more about it over time. Unlike influenza, COVID-19 can be passed on by people who are not showing symptoms of the illness. The Department explained that this …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: While government had plans and a stockpile of PPE, this proved inadeq uate for the COVID-19 pandemic. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department must improve its approach to managing and distributing stocks of PPE to ensure the correct …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Almost all the PPE was manufactured abroad and had to be shipped, flown or put on a train to the UK. This meant it took a long time to be delivered. Therefore, despite the creation of the parallel supply chain, the time lag between ordering PPE and it being available, …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
The Department explained that its formal reporting arrangements did not identify any provider organisation, in health or social care, as having run out of PPE completely. It monitored the risk that social care could run out within 48 hours. It told us the national supply disruption emergency helpline, which was …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
We have previously noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the tragic impact of delaying much needed social care reform and integration with health, and instead treating the sector as the NHS’s poor relation.35 Between March 2020 and July 2020, the Department provided NHS trusts with 1.9 billion items of …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: The Department’s focus on supporting hospitals meant assistance to social care providers was neglected. 4: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to the Committee by the end of April 2021 to explain how it will revise its …
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Care England and the British Medical Association told us that the contingency planning process for a pandemic appeared to focus on the NHS at the expense of the social care sector despite some of the most vulnerable people being in social care. Care England told us this lack of planning …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: The Department’s focus on supporting hospitals meant assistance to social care providers was neglected. 4: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to the Committee by the end of April 2021 to explain how it will revise its …
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Witnesses from organisations representing staff working in health and social care told us that providers received unusable PPE from central government. The Royal College of Nursing told us of instances where it had received masks on which the elastic was rotten, goggles which took significant amounts of time to assemble …
Government response. 7: PAC conclusion: The Department has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on PPE which is of poor quality and cannot be used for the intended purpose. 7a: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to the Committee by July 2021 …
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Staff representative organisations ran surveys in which frontline staff reported not having the PPE they needed. The British Medical Association, the Royal College of 37 Qq 11, 17, 37–38, 66–67, 121, 123 38 Qq 11–12, 17, 23–24, 37, 66, 123; House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, Readying the NHS and …
Government response. 5.3 While the government’s rapid action ensured there was never a point at which a trust stocked-out, the department acknowledges the evidence from front-line workers that was presented in the National Audit Office (NAO) report.
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
We asked about the experience of BAME staff and whether this had been different to that of their white colleagues. The British Medical Association told us that its surveys showed between two and three times as many BAME doctors as white doctors felt pressured to work without adequate protection. It …
Government response. 5.4 The department has factored this evidence into the programme of engagement with customer groups and users of PPE and continues to invite feedback about user needs at weekly Customer Engagement Group meetings with representatives from Adult Social Care and …
HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
By October 2020, employers had reported 8,152 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and 126 deaths as being linked to occupational exposure among health and care workers.45 The British Medical Association and Unison asserted that the Department should investigate whether PPE shortages contributed to staff infections and deaths from COVID19. The Department …
Government response. 5.5 There are mechanisms in place to investigate the deaths of health and care workers which involve coroners and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Medical examiners also have a role in scrutinising deaths of NHS health and social care …
HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
Witnesses representing the health and social care sectors raised a number of concerns about the PPE guidance issued by government. The Department told us that it held conversations with the Royal Colleges (and with the NHS and public health services of the UK nations) about the PPE guidance issued.47 The …
Government response. 5.4 The department has factored this evidence into the programme of engagement with customer groups and users of PPE and continues to invite feedback about user needs at weekly Customer Engagement Group meetings with representatives from Adult Social Care and …
HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Governm…
By the end of June, 44 Transport for London workers had lost their lives to COVID19. We asked representatives of health and social care staff organisations about the provision of PPE to non-healthcare key workers, such as taxi drivers, cleaners, transport, supermarket and security workers. The British Medical Association considered …
Government response. 4.5 The department is developing a framework to determine how government might best respond to a shortage of PPE for health and social care settings in addition to wider sectors. This framework has the potential to be adapted and implemented …
HM Treasury