Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Government’s PPE strategy aims to build a UK manufacturing base so that there is a...
Conclusion
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 programme. It cited contracts for this programme as one of the reasons that the number of orders it made peaked in June, after the initial pandemic peak. We were concerned that this domestic production risked being undermined by surpluses of PPE and asked whether it would need to consider reducing its existing contracts. The Department explained that some of the PPE stocks were of items such as aprons and gloves which the sector used in high volumes, but accepted there was a bigger challenge for other types of PPE such as respirator masks.18
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
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, should set out a plan by July 2021 that shows how it will: • Use the PPE it has ordered, covering how much will be given health and social care providers, stockpiled, cancelled, or sold in the UK or overseas. • Incentivise the NHS Supply Chain, trusts and other providers, to buy PPE which is made in the UK. • Ensure there is sufficient resilience in the supply chain where UK manufacturers cannot provide the necessary PPE. 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 wave of COVID-19 alongside winter seasonal pressures. 6.3 The department will set out more details on the future strategy for PPE in due course including plans to deliver a resilient and value for money supply chain for health care with UK manufacturing at the centre. This strategy will encompass the points in recommendation 6 and more detail on the shape of this strategy will be shared with the Committee by July 2021.