Recommendation 16

The Department accepted that the urgent need for PPE meant it accepted greater risks when buying PPE than it usually would. The Department maintained, however, that it did not ask the Health and Safety Executive to lower standards. It told us that it bought millions of FFP2 respirator masks which did not meet government’s published safety standards because it was concerned it would run out of FFP3 respirator masks. It explained that it was in discussions with the Health and Safety Executive about changing that standard to permit the use of these particular FFP2 masks. FFP2 masks of the type the Department bought were then not permitted to be used for their original intended purposes.26 21 C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, para 2.20, Q92 22 Qq 247–254 23 Letter from Department of Health & Social Care, 15 January 2021 24 Qq 252–254 25 Qq 92–102, 173–178, 249–251, 255–256; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 2.19–2.20 26 Qq 148–149, 176–177, 234–246; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 2.19–2.20 16 COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment 2 Government supply of PPE during the pandemic Government readiness for the need to supply PPE during the pandemic