Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
We asked the Department what plans it had for disposal of the £4 billion of...
Conclusion
We asked the Department what plans it had for disposal of the £4 billion of PPE that it has identified cannot be used in the NHS. The Department told us that it had approached 75 different countries to see if they could use any of the unusable PPE. This has led to ongoing discussions with 11 countries and the Department has made some minimal donations of PPE so far.15 In respect of disposal options, the Department confirmed that it had a pilot of re-purposing face visors as food trays, and aprons into bin bags.16 The 7 C&AG’s Report, para 8 8 Qq 19, 22, 23 9 Q 24 10 Q 52 11 C&AG’s Report, para 8 12 DHSC 2020–21 ARA, page 191 13 Q 69 14 Q 90 15 Qq 46, 49 16 Qq 40–42 Department of Health and Social Care 2020–21 Annual Report and Accounts 11 Department informed us that it intends to appoint two waste partners, with the aim of disposing of 15,000 pallets a month.17 The disposal will be via combination of recycling, and burning the items which will also generate power. In the meantime, the Department is still spending £3.5m a week in storing PPE.18 PPE Procurement and contracting capability
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 1.2 In order to reduce the costs associated with storing personal protective equipment (PPE) that will not be used, the Department of Health and Social Care (the department or DHSC) is focusing efforts on accelerating the disposal programme. While the priority remains to keep selling, repurposing and donating the stock, the department will maintain a pragmatic approach to managing stock and develop solutions that make sense economically and environmentally. 1.3 In March 2022, two Lead Waste Providers (LWPs), Suez and Veolia, were appointed to assess the options for disposal. The LWPs have completed assessments on the first set of products and, in May, began work on recovery. During the first month, the LWPs recovered 4,000 pallets, though it is expected that this will have increased to 15,000 pallets per month in the next few months. 1.4 Work to establish detailed operating plans from the pathfinding work is underway and is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks. These plans will provide details, by product, through to the end of December 2022 and will give a clear indication of what rate of recovery can be achieved and by when. Accordingly, the department will write to the Committee over the Summer to set out the detail in full.