Recommendation COVID-M5.11: Data and Technology in Emergency Procurement
From Module 5: Procurement, published 14 July 2026.
Recommendation
Within three years of the publication of this Report, the systems for the procurement and distribution of healthcare equipment should be digitalised and interoperable across the UK government and devolved administrations.
As a minimum, these systems should be able to use technology to collect, share and analyse data across the UK in real time on:
pandemic stockpiles, health and social care sector inventories and usage rates;
offers of supply, enabling automated comparison, triaging and processing;
non-compliant healthcare equipment entering the market;
supply chains, including international delivery times and domestic logistics and distribution data;
procurement and distribution workforce capacity; and
spending – automatically identifying, collecting and collating key contract data for publication.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended digitalising healthcare equipment procurement systems across the United Kingdom (UK). In September 2026, the Northern Ireland Executive had not published a formal reply to the July 2026 report on its publications list (Northern Ireland Executive response, Sep 2026). The Scottish Government in September 2026 had likewise not published a formal reply within its online collection of inquiry responses (Scottish Government response, Sep 2026). The Welsh Government in September 2026 had also not published a formal reply on its inquiry module reports page (Welsh Government response, Sep 2026). The record holds nothing dated later than the response of September 2026 (Welsh Government response, Sep 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 2 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
No formal government response published. The Welsh Government had not published a response to the Module 5 report of 14 July 2026 when its page of responses to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry module reports on GOV.WALES was checked on 25 September 2026.
No formal government response published. The Scottish Government had not published a response to the Module 5 report of 14 July 2026 when its collection of responses to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on gov.scot was checked on 25 September 2026.
No formal government response published. The Northern Ireland Executive had not published a response to the Module 5 report of 14 July 2026 when the Executive Office's publications list was checked on 25 September 2026.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Department of Health and Social Care has been found in the sources searched (last checked 20 October 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Welsh Government
Response - Scottish Government
Response - Northern Ireland Executive
Response