Recommendation 7

BEIS created a Vaccines Taskforce (the Taskforce) in April 2020 to support the research and development of potential vaccines, select which vaccines to purchase, secure the UK’s 7 Committee of Public Accounts, CPVID-19: Supply of Ventilators, HC 685, 25 November 2020 8 Q 33, C&AG’s Report, para 20–21, 3.8–3.10 9 Q 33, C&AG’s Report, para 10, 1.6 10 C&AG’s Report, para 16, 2.5 11 Qq 42–43 12 Q 43 13 Qq 47–49, C&AG’s Report para 17, 2.8–2.9 COVID-19: Planning for a vaccine Part 1 11 access to sufficient quantities of vaccines, and develop manufacturing capacity to ensure supply.14 It explained that creating the Taskforce allowed it to very quickly give a potential vaccine the senior focus, governance and skills needed to respond to the pandemic.15 The Taskforce consists of pharmaceutical industry experts, academics and civil servants from across government. At December 2020, the Taskforce had 201.7 full-time equivalent staff, including 79.9 full-time equivalent staff recruited from outside the civil service. We asked how BEIS was ensuring that it was able to keep hold of, or ensure access to, the skills and expertise it needed. It responded that to date it had not encountered any problems with this as the best way to motivate and retain people was to give them something that really mattered to work on and the issues the Taskforce was dealing with was the “absolute No.1 national priority”.16