Policies designed to create additional capacity quickly, while necessary, have resulted in a lack of transparency about costs and value for money. The NHS boosted its potential maximum capacity for the peak in April by building Nightingale hospitals across the country and signing contracts with independent providers for 8,000 additional beds, which was announced on 21 March. The contract ended on the 28 June. The Department expects to continue these arrangements in anticipation of future peaks. However, we are concerned by the scarcity of information on contracts and costs. When asked, NHSE&I was unable, or unwilling, to provide any estimate of the cost of private sector capacity or the Nightingale hospitals. We are fortunate that the Nightingale hospitals have not been required so far during the pandemic, but it will not be a good use of public money if we continue to let them remain empty while elsewhere the NHS requires additional capacity for normal services. Recommendation: After failing to provide detail in the session, it is imperative that the Department and NHSE&I write to the Committee as soon as possible – and no later than 1 September 2020—with information on the cost of private hospital contracts, how these have been used, and their intentions for how private and Nightingale hospitals will be made best use of in the coming months, including: • details of what the second phase of contracts will provide; • the total cost and pricing mechanisms; and • how capacity in these hospitals will be allocated? They should come to subsequent sessions prepared to disclose cost information on key elements of the pandemic response. Readying the NHS and social care for the COVID-19 peak 9 1 Lessons from the NHS and adult social care response to the COVID-19 pandemic