Recommendation 16

We asked the Department why it had started disposing of PPE before it had made a decision on the size of the stockpile to hold for future emergencies. It told us that it will not need or be able to use all of the PPE it currently holds. As an example, it currently holds at least 15 years’ worth of eye protectors which will degrade over time. It is therefore looking at disposal options in parallel with defining the size of stockpile it intends to hold. The Department said that it expects to decide upon a stockpile larger than that previously held but smaller than the stockpile that would have been required for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department estimates there would need to be a pandemic every twelve years to justify the costs of storing and managing a stockpile of the size needed for the COVID-19 response.31