16
Accepted
The Department accepted that the urgent need for PPE meant it accepted greater risks when...
Conclusion
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 us that it bought millions of FFP2 respirator masks which did not meet government’s published safety standards because it was concerned it would run out of FFP3 respirator masks. It explained that it was in discussions with the Health and Safety Executive about changing that standard to permit the use of these particular FFP2 masks. FFP2 masks of the type the Department bought were then not permitted to be used for their original intended purposes.26 21 C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, para 2.20, Q92 22 Qq 247–254 23 Letter from Department of Health & Social Care, 15 January 2021 24 Qq 252–254 25 Qq 92–102, 173–178, 249–251, 255–256; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 2.19–2.20 26 Qq 148–149, 176–177, 234–246; C&AG’s Report The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, paras 2.19–2.20 16 COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment 2 Government supply of PPE during the pandemic Government readiness for the need to supply PPE during the pandemic
Government Response Summary
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.
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: July 2021 7.2 Processes are underway to review the quality of all the PPE the government has bought, which is on course to complete by the end of June 2021. 7.3 This process will determine whether or not products are suitable to be released to the frontline. Any products that are not currently used on the frontline will be subject to further quality investigation and contractual review. The department will write to the Committee by the end of July 2021 to report on the findings from this analysis. In January 2021, the department reported to the Committee that 1.3% of total PPE bought could not be used for its original intended purpose. This was generated as a best estimate at the time. The department is now reviewing with support of external audit to assess the current 11% of ordered volume that is not currently being supplied to the frontline. After this work is complete, it will be able to give a final accurate per cent of volume that cannot be used for its original intended purpose. A total of 0.31% of delivered volume are marked as wastage. 7.4 This review will enable an assessment of the costs of the PPE in each of these categories to be made. An assessment of the value of the stock will be made, using the weighted average cost model, and the department will provide the Committee with a detailed breakdown in July 2021.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
Forty-Second Report - COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment
10 Feb 2021
HC 928
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
5.5 yrs
Report published
10 Feb 2021