Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
The Department asserted that while it had deliberately secured a significant stockpile of PPE, it...
Conclusion
The Department asserted that while it had deliberately secured a significant stockpile of PPE, it was not clear it had over-ordered as the stock would be needed for the ongoing COVID crisis. It admitted that it did not have full information about how much PPE had been provided by suppliers outside the parallel supply chain. Additional PPE was also used by staff who were not treating known COVID19 NHS patients but were supporting the ‘reopening of the NHS’. It also told us that the PPE it had ordered can be used to support primary care and social care and might also be needed for the programmes to test people for, and vaccinate people against, COVID-19. Not all of the PPE purchased had yet been delivered and the Department told us it would consider whether some of its PPE contracts could be reduced or cancelled. The Department also said that it was looking at sharing or selling some PPE with its partners.19 The Department wrote to us after our evidence session and told us that to date it had, for a multitude of reasons, cancelled or curtailed contracts to the value of around £400 million.20 Problems with the quality of some PPE procured
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.2 The department purchased personal protective equipment (PPE) in line with modelled demand covering; all potential customer groups and relevant categories of PPE, worst-case scenario assumptions guidance. 2.3 The government has increased UK manufacturing capability so UK firms can meet future demand at short notice. 2.4 The department now holds a four-month stockpile of COVID-critical PPE to mitigate against demand fluctuations. A flexible UK logistics network has been developed, using long and short-term storage facilities. The department has a network of warehouses that hold, pick and distribute PPE. These draw stock from an array of short notice, onshore storage facilities, together with our offshore warehouses in China. 2.5 Stock is tracked, monitored and managed at a product-level across the UK to meet upcoming requirements; a rolling stock take is conducted in core warehouses. Processes are in place to review the quality of all the PPE the government has bought. This process determines whether products are suitable to be released to the frontline. Any that cannot, are subject to further investigation. 2.6 The department will make information available in due course confirming the future approach for the stockpile management of PPE. 2.7 The department is reviewing its countermeasures for disease outbreaks and pandemics, including PPE. This review will revisit the recommended specifications and volumes based on expert advice. It will build on the experience of COVID-19 to recommend procurement, storage, monitoring and distribution models to ensure that stock is in good quality and can be rapidly deployed in sufficient quantities when needed.