Recommendation 6

The future of the UK-based supply chain for PPE is unclear. The global demand for PPE at the start of the pandemic pushed up the prices from suppliers around the world. In an effort to create a more resilient UK-based supply chain, the Department encouraged some UK manufacturers to repurpose their businesses to supply PPE. It signed 37 contracts under its “UK Make” programme and collectively, these contracts helped deliver 3.9 billion items of PPE. However, now that demand for PPE has reduced and with the Department holding a large amount of excess stock, it is unclear what role these suppliers might play going forward. Only seven of them have been moved onto SCCL’s procurement frameworks enabling them to bid for future PPE contracts. In the event of a future pandemic, it is unclear what role these suppliers might be expected to play to meet the renewed demand. Recommendation: The Department should explain in its Treasury Minute response what the role of UK based suppliers of PPE is expected to be going forward. This should include what role UK-based suppliers can expect to play in ongoing procurement activity and what the expectation is for capacity to be increased in the event of future pandemics. 8 Management of PPE contracts 1 The management of PPE stock