Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Twelfth Report - Management of PPE contracts
Public Accounts Committee
HC 260
Published 20 July 2022
Recommendations
5
Accepted
The Department has handed back responsibility for the PPE programme to Supply Chain Coordination Limited...
Recommendation
The Department has handed back responsibility for the PPE programme to Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL) with many issues still to be resolved. Since October 2021, oversight of SCCL transferred from the Department to NHS England and in April 2022 …
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Government Response Summary
The government agreed to release its PPE strategy and update the Committee on plans for publication, aiming for Autumn 2022 implementation, while the NHS Supply Chain took over PPE supply and distribution in April 2022.
HM Treasury
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6
Accepted
The future of the UK-based supply chain for PPE is unclear.
Recommendation
The future of the UK-based supply chain for PPE is unclear. The global demand for PPE at the start of the pandemic pushed up the prices from suppliers around the world. In an effort to create a more resilient UK-based …
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Government Response Summary
The department has established a resilient UK-based supply chain and contracts have been signed with around 30 UK-based companies. The department is working with NHS Supply Chain to help offer UK manufactured products to the health and care sectors where possible.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (1)
7
Conclusion
Accepted
Alongside reducing excess stock, the Department is also having to consider what is an appropriate level of PPE to hold as a stockpile. We asked it whether it had created another strategic reserve of PPE in preparation for the possibility of a future pandemic.11 The Department noted that it had …
Government Response Summary
Operational responsibility will transfer to the NHS Supply Chain on 1 April 2023, with the department retaining ownership of this stock for accounting purposes. The department’s current working assumption is that, subject to suitability, products held in excess will be transferred to a future stockpile.