Recommendation 29

By the end of June, 44 Transport for London workers had lost their lives to COVID19. We asked representatives of health and social care staff organisations about the provision of PPE to non-healthcare key workers, such as taxi drivers, cleaners, transport, supermarket and security workers. The British Medical Association considered that these workers deserved to be protected and noted that failing to protect them led to more hospitalisations and increased the pressure on the NHS. The Department told us it would consider providing PPE to a wider group of people, such as key workers, as part of its pandemic planning if the evidence suggested that this would be effective. It also noted it had provided PPE guidance for some groups of workers, such as police and prison officers, during the first wave of the pandemic, and provided PPE to the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice.49 48 Qq 20–21, 26, 69, 73–75, 82; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 17, 3.3–3.7, Figure 14 49 Qq 24, 79–80, 277–278 COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment 21