Twelfth Report - Management of PPE contracts

The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and the department has undertaken a review of historic ministerial diaries and has, where necessary, updated the register in line with Cabinet Office requirements; the department has strengthened both reporting and quality assurance processes.

The government will provide a summary update on the progress of negotiations in confidence to the Committee, and has established a Dissolution Team until March 2023 with quarterly targets to resolve contractual matters, but much of the requested information is commercially sensitive.

The government states that the commercial reset will ensure sufficient processes are now in place to prevent issues such as insufficient due diligence checks at the outset of the pandemic to prevent potential profiteering and to identify conflicts of interest from recurring, and highlights existing policies and guidelines.

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.

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.

The government disagrees that a new stock management system is needed, arguing that existing data systems are sufficient and a new system would only duplicate existing data.

The government will provide a summary update on the progress of negotiations as a whole in confidence to the Committee due to commercial sensitivity, with a Dissolution Team working to resolve contractual matters by March 2023.

The government agreed to explain its progress in resolving the 176 disputed PPE contracts and will provide a summary update on the progress of negotiations as a whole in confidence to the Committee. A Dissolution Team has been commissioned until March 2023 with quarterly targets to achieve resolution of contractual matters.

The government agreed to update the committee on how it is working with relevant authorities in assessing and acting on any fraudulent cases. The department takes all allegations of fraud extremely seriously and, where appropriate, allegations are thoroughly investigated and the strongest possible civil and criminal sanctions sought.

The government states that the commercial reset will ensure sufficient processes are now in place to prevent issues such as insufficient due diligence checks at the outset of the pandemic to prevent potential profiteering and to identify conflicts of interest from recurring, and highlights existing policies and guidelines.

The government agreed to set out how its commercial reset will ensure sufficient processes are now in place to prevent issues of profiteering and conflicts of interest from recurring. The department has well-established policies, processes and due diligence systems for use outside of emergencies. All tendering activities comply with the relevant standards, processes and criteria set out in the Public Contracts Regulations.

The government agreed to release its PPE strategy, setting out the roles and responsibilities of the Department and SCCL in managing contracts and future procurement. Responsibility moved to NHS Supply Chain in April 2022. The department committed to publishing the strategy and will update the committee on plans for publication.

The Department will release its PPE strategy, setting out how it will work with SCCL and what the respective roles and responsibilities of each organisation will be in the ongoing management of contracts and future procurement activities, as soon as it is possible and will update the Committee on the plans for publication in due course.

The government agreed to explain the role of UK-based PPE suppliers going forward, noting that they have established a resilient UK-based supply chain (excluding gloves). Future procurement will include a focus on social value and environmental considerations, with NHS Supply Chain offering UK-manufactured products where possible.

The government states that it has established a resilient UK-based supply chain, that future procurement will continue on the open market including a focus on social value, and that it is working with NHS Supply Chain to help offer UK manufactured products to the health and care sectors where possible.