UK Inquiry Tracker

COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of personal protective equipment

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 22 Oct 2020 Closed: 19 Apr 2021 Parliament page

In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, public sector bodies have had to procure goods and services with extreme urgency. Under emergency laws brought in at the start of the pandemic crisis, the Cabinet Office - which oversees government’s buying policies - has changed some of the procurement rules for contracts … Read more In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, public sector bodies have had to procure goods and services with extreme urgency. Under emergency laws brought in at the start of the pandemic crisis, the Cabinet Office - which oversees government’s buying policies - has changed some of the procurement rules for contracts relating to the government’s response to COVID-19. Concerns have been raised about some of these procurements, including around a lack of transparency. The NAO has now published two major reports, one on the way government has handled procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic , and one specifically on its procurement and contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) , including: - How PPE was supplied to NHS and social care organisations before the COVID-19 pandemic started - What government did, between the pandemic emerging in other countries and arriving in the UK, to prepare for the provision of PPE in the NHS and social care organisations - How government responded when problems arose in the supply of PPE - The scale of problems in the availability of PPE throughout the emergency This inquiry will take evidence on both reports, examining the scale of Government’s COVID-19-related contracting, how procurement rules have changed and how the government is managing the risks associated with these changes. For a chosen sample of these contracts it will look specifically at who bought what, from whom, and at what cost, during the pandemic - and whether this is delivering value for taxpayers money in the crisis. In mid-December the Committee will hold two evidence hearings on the findings across both these reports. In the first hearing, the Committee will question representatives of frontline medical and care associations. In the second hearing, the Committee will question senior officials at the Cabinet Office and Department for Health and Social Care. If you have evidence on the issues raised in this inquiry please submit it here before 6.00pm on Monday 7 December. Show less

11 Recommendations

18 Conclusions

1 Report

2 Oral sessions

4 Letters

2 Events

Activity timeline 8 events

10 Sep
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re PPE Procurement and Supply, dated …

3 Sep
2021

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-second report from Session 2019-21

10 Jun
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Public Accounts Chair Meg Hillier to Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, …

20 May
2021

Correspondence

Copy letter sent to various PPE Suppliers in connection to the inquiry COVID-19 Government procurement and supply of protective equipment

14 May
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Department of Health and Social Care on the Committee's 42nd report of Session 2019-21 - COVID-19 Government Procur…

10 Feb
2021

Report published

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment

14 Dec
2020

Oral evidence

COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment

10 Dec
2020

Oral evidence

COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment

Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions

14 Dec 2020

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COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment

Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office David Williams · Daily Mail Gareth Rhys Williams · Crown Commercial Service Jonathan Marron · Department for Health and Social Care Michael Brodie · NHS Business Service Authority

10 Dec 2020

View on parliament.uk

COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment

Dr Chaand Nagpaul · Council of the British Medical Association Dr Emily McWhirter · Royal College of Nursing Gavin Edwards · UNISON Professor Martin Green · Care England

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Government procurement and suppl…	HC 928	10 Feb 2021	29	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

14 results

5 Recommendation Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

The Department does not know enough about the experience of frontline staff, particularly BAME staff.

The Department does not know enough about the experience of frontline staff, particularly BAME staff. The Department set up a daily process for gathering information about the PPE required by local organisations and maintains that its formal reporting arrangements did … Read more The Department does not know enough about the experience of frontline staff, particularly BAME staff. The Department set up a daily process for gathering information about the PPE required by local organisations and maintains that its formal reporting arrangements did not identify any provider organisation, in health or social care, as having run out of PPE. Despite this, Care England is clear that some social care providers did run out of PPE, and representative organisations’ surveys showed staff reported PPE shortages. In a survey by the Royal College of Nursing many nurses reported being asked to reuse single-use items of PPE. Frontline staff found the multiple iterations of guidance confusing and were concerned that the guidance did not specify a high enough level of PPE to properly protect them. Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff were more likely to report experiencing PPE shortages, feeling pressured to work without adequate protection, and not being fit tested for respirator masks. A third of BAME doctors reported experiencing PPE shortages compared with 14% of white doctors, Similarly, almost half of BAME nurses said that they had not been fit tested for respirator masks compared with 74% of white nurses. By October 2020, employers had reported 126 deaths and 8,152 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 among health and care workers as being linked to occupational exposure. The Department asserts that there is no evidence that these deaths were caused by PPE shortages, but confirmed that medical examiners will fully investigate the death of all staff within trusts to determine whether this has been the result of occupational exposure to the virus. Recommendation: The Department needs to better understand the experience of frontline staff during the first wave of the pandemic, and ensure lessons are learned so it can better respond in a future emergency. It should particularly focus on the different reported experiences of staff from different ethnic backgro Show less

Government Response

The government accepted the recommendation to better understand frontline staff experiences, including BAME staff, with a target implementation date of July 2021. It confirmed it is factoring evidence into engagement programs, continuously seeking feedback, and considering options for further qualitative insights, with an update to be provided.

HM Treasury

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6 Recommendation Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

We are concerned that the Department’s ordering of an enormous amount of PPE might compromise...

We are concerned that the Department’s ordering of an enormous amount of PPE might compromise government’s ambition to maintain a UK manufacturing base for PPE. Between February and July 2020, the Department ordered 32 billion items of PPE. It intended … Read more

Government Response

The government accepts the recommendation and commits to sharing details of its future PPE strategy by July 2021. This strategy will outline how ordered PPE will be used, how UK manufacturing will be incentivized, and how supply chain resilience will be ensured.

HM Treasury

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7 Recommendation Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

The Department has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on PPE which is of poor...

The Department has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on PPE which is of poor quality and cannot be used for the intended purpose. The urgent need for PPE meant it accepted more risks when buying PPE than it usually … Read more

Government Response

The government accepts the recommendation and commits to completing a quality review of all PPE by June 2021. It will report to the Committee by July 2021, detailing volumes, costs, and methodology for PPE that is unusable or unsuitable for its intended purpose.

HM Treasury

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8 Recommendation Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

It should also update us on the number of contracts (and their financial value) in...

It should also update us on the number of contracts (and their financial value) in which it is seeking to recover costs for undelivered or substandard PPE. COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment 11 1 Government’s approach … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to writing to the Committee by the end of July 2021 to report on the number and financial value of contracts where it has recovered, attempted to recover, or is still seeking to recover costs for undelivered or substandard PPE.

HM Treasury

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9 Conclusion Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

Access to the high-priority lane was based on recommendations coming from government officials, ministers’ offices,...

Access to the high-priority lane was based on recommendations coming from government officials, ministers’ offices, MPs and members of the House of Lords. The NAO found that there were no written rules which determined the basis on which suppliers should … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with an implied recommendation to learn lessons from PPE procurement. It will publish updated policy on emergency procurement, including guidance for selecting suppliers, by July 2021, disseminating these findings to the wider Government Commercial Function.

HM Treasury

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11 Conclusion Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

Between February and July 2020, the Department ordered 32 billion items of PPE.

Between February and July 2020, the Department ordered 32 billion items of PPE. The Department told us that it was seeking to avoid shortages in the event of a potential second wave and had deliberately looked to build up a … Read more

Government Response

The government detailed existing measures for PPE management, including maintaining a four-month stockpile, tracking stock, and conducting quality reviews. It stated that information on the future approach to stockpile management would be made available in due course, and a review of countermeasures for disease outbreaks is underway.

HM Treasury

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12 Recommendation Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

Government’s PPE strategy aims to build a UK manufacturing base so that there is a...

Government’s PPE strategy aims to build a UK manufacturing base so that there is a resilient domestic supply. The Department explained that 70% of PPE (excluding gloves) that it expected would be supplied between December 2020 and February 2021 should … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to sharing more details on its future PPE strategy, encompassing how it will use ordered PPE, incentivise UK-made PPE, and ensure supply chain resilience, with the Committee by July 2021.

HM Treasury

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15 Recommendation Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

The Department had not calculated the value of unusable or potentially unsuitable items but told...

The Department had not calculated the value of unusable or potentially unsuitable items but told us that it was currently undertaking work to estimate this and committed to coming back to us with a timetable for when this would be … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees to provide an update by the end of July 2021 on the number and value of contracts where it has successfully recovered costs, made efforts to recover costs, or is still seeking to recover costs for undelivered or substandard PPE.

HM Treasury

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16 Conclusion Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

The Department accepted that the urgent need for PPE meant it accepted greater risks when...

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 … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with an implied recommendation and commits to completing a review of all PPE quality by June 2021. It will report findings to the Committee by July 2021, detailing which products are suitable for frontline use, and provide an assessment of costs for unsuitable PPE.

HM Treasury

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18 Conclusion Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

In March 2020, officials from NHS England & NHS Improvement publicly assured the Health and...

In March 2020, officials from NHS England & NHS Improvement publicly assured the Health and Social Care Select Committee that these stockpiles meant the country was well placed to manage the COVID19 pandemic. However, the NAO report found that the … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with an implied recommendation to improve PPE management and distribution. It confirms a four-month stockpile, increased UK manufacturing, a flexible logistics network, and processes for stock tracking and quality review, with further details on future strategy to follow.

HM Treasury

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20 Conclusion Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

Almost all the PPE was manufactured abroad and had to be shipped, flown or put...

Almost all the PPE was manufactured abroad and had to be shipped, flown or put on a train to the UK. This meant it took a long time to be delivered. Therefore, despite the creation of the parallel supply chain, … Read more Almost all the PPE was manufactured abroad and had to be shipped, flown or put on a train to the UK. This meant it took a long time to be delivered. Therefore, despite the creation of the parallel supply chain, the time lag between ordering PPE and it being available, the Department could barely satisfy local organisations’ requirements.30 Representatives of the frontline of health and social care sector told us they experienced various problems accessing the PPE they needed, and in some cases could not access it 27 Qq 109–110, 116–118, 120, 146; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, Figure 3 28 Qq 13, 120, 145–146; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 8, 1.8–1.9, 1.14, 1.16, Figure 4; House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, Oral evidence: Coronavirus – NHS Preparedness, Session 2019–2021, HC 36, 17 March 2020, Qq 129–132 29 Qq 144–147 30 C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 13 and 2.22, Figure 9 COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment 17 at all. The British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing told us that, in March and April, the PPE they ordered by providers through the NHS Supply Chain was not provided and when government did eventually provide PPE it provided only tiny amounts. Care England explained that providers had to buy their own PPE at hugely inflated costs, buying from suppliers they were unfamiliar with and running the risk of being sold substandard PPE. The British Medical Association provided one example of paying £150 for five respirator masks which, as shown in the NAO report, would have cost around £1 each in 2019. Care England told us that the situation within the social care sector was even worse than the NHS, with established supply chains being disrupted and reports of PPE being redirected from social Show less

Government Response

The government agrees with an implied recommendation and outlines its current and future PPE strategy, including increased UK manufacturing capability, holding a four-month stockpile, and developing a flexible logistics network to improve distribution and mitigate demand fluctuations.

HM Treasury

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22 Recommendation Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

We have previously noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the tragic impact of delaying...

We have previously noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the tragic impact of delaying much needed social care reform and integration with health, and instead treating the sector as the NHS’s poor relation.35 Between March 2020 and July 2020, … Read more We have previously noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the tragic impact of delaying much needed social care reform and integration with health, and instead treating the sector as the NHS’s poor relation.35 Between March 2020 and July 2020, the Department provided NHS trusts with 1.9 billion items of PPE, equivalent to 80% of their estimated need. Over the same period, it provided 331 million items to the adult social care sector, equivalent to 10% of its estimated need. Of the total PPE distributed between March and July, trusts received 81% and adult social care 14%.36 The Department told us that this imbalance was a consequence of the arrangements for supplying PPE 31 Qq 8–10, 13–14, 17–18, 22, 29, 34, 37, 38, 40, 46, 66–67, 122 32 Qq 125–128 33 Qq 140–143, 156; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 2.5–2.6 34 Qq 131, 142–143, 156; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 2.5–2.6 35 House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, Readying the NHS and social care for the COVID-19 peak, Session 2019–2021, HC 405, 29 July 2020, para 3 36 C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, para 19 18 COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment before the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, social care providers tended to buy their PPE directly from wholesalers, while trusts tended to buy from the NHS Supply Chain. The Department told us its intention therefore was to provide PPE to social care providers as an “emergency top-up” when their usual suppliers could not provide it, rather than the Department becoming their main supplier. But social care representatives told us that providers were unable to get PPE from their usual suppliers or from the Department, and consequently providers reported shortages.37 Show less

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to writing to the Committee by the end of April 2021 with an update on its future approach for PPE management and a framework for responding to future shortages, giving appropriate weight to all health and social care sectors.

HM Treasury

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23 Conclusion Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

Care England and the British Medical Association told us that the contingency planning process for...

Care England and the British Medical Association told us that the contingency planning process for a pandemic appeared to focus on the NHS at the expense of the social care sector despite some of the most vulnerable people being in … Read more

Government Response

The government agreed with the committee's recommendation (PAC Rec 4, not the provided committee text), committing to providing an update by April 2021 on how it will revise emergency response plans for health and social care, and is developing a framework for responding to future PPE shortages.

HM Treasury

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27 Conclusion Accepted

Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Go…

By October 2020, employers had reported 8,152 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and 126 deaths as...

By October 2020, employers had reported 8,152 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and 126 deaths as being linked to occupational exposure among health and care workers.45 The British Medical Association and Unison asserted that the Department should investigate whether PPE shortages … Read more

Government Response

The government states that mechanisms are in place through coroners, medical examiners, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate COVID-19 work-related deaths, and that HSE is currently undertaking these investigations.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 29 of 11 classified

Accepted 14

Acknowledged 6

Deferred 1

Not Addressed 8

Total 11 recs + 18 conclusions

Correspondence 4 letters

10 Sep 2021 Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re PPE Procurement and Supply, dated 27 July 2021

Parliament page

10 Jun 2021 Correspondence from Public Accounts Chair Meg Hillier to Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re Following on from COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment, dated 28 May 2021

Parliament page

20 May 2021 From committee Copy letter sent to various PPE Suppliers in connection to the inquiry COVID-19 Government procurement and supply of protective equipment

Parliament page

14 May 2021 Correspondence from the Department of Health and Social Care on the Committee's 42nd report of Session 2019-21 - COVID-19 Government Procurement and Supply of Personal Protective Equipment

Parliament page