Recommendation 17

Government had a Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Programme and a stockpile of PPE for managing an influenza pandemic, but not a coronavirus pandemic (such as COVID-19). Public Health England told us this was because the national risk register identified an influenza pandemic as the number one risk. Public Health England owned and managed the PPE stockpile for an influenza pandemic on behalf of the Department, and the Department also had a smaller stockpile of PPE to manage a ‘no deal’ exit from the European Union.27