Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
However, it is important to remember that the challenge did not take place under normal...
Conclusion
However, it is important to remember that the challenge did not take place under normal circumstances. Ventilator Challenge UK, the consortium of businesses that worked together to produce the Penlon ES02 ventilators, described the process as “working against a backdrop of life or death urgency”.24 The Cabinet Office acknowledged that the scale and urgency of the task meant that designers and manufacturers involved in the challenge came together “in the most collaborative way” it had ever seen and that the Cabinet Office team were working “12 hour days, seven days a week for 14 weeks.”25 The Cabinet Office also explained that the focus of the programme was maintaining public health and that there was therefore a low emphasis on cost. This meant that it was able to fund multiple devices until it became clear whether or not the ventilator would be needed to meet demand.26
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
4.1 The government agrees with this recommendation. Ta rget implementation date: June 2021 4.2 The Government Commercial Function is in the process of updating the Outsourcing Playbook V2 which will be launched as a Sourcing Playbook in Spring/Summer 2021 and will incorporate the lessons from the Ventilator Challenge that can be applied to future programmes. The Ventilator Challenge lessons will be captured as a case study and used as part of training on risk - this will be disseminated as part of the regular knowledge sharing sessions with government departments.