MPs blast Department over ‘significant’ PPE failings

The Commons Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the procurement and handling of almost 38 billion items of PPE during the Covid pandemic. Its report said 3.9 billon of these items are no longer needed, many now past their use by date.

The Department is examining the scope to sell, donate or recycle the excess stock, and has offloaded 800 items to date, but it accepts that some may need to be incinerated. Like other unused stock, the items are being stored – at a cost to the Department. And, though storage costs have fallen, it is spending £7m a month storing excess stock alone.

The committee called on the Department to set out its assessment of the need to retain any excess stock for a future stockpile, and how much it intends to sell, donate, recycle and incinerate. Also, it should clarify whether it or NHS Supply Chain Co-ordination (SCCL) is responsible for managing the excess stock.

The MPs added that an effective stock management system is needed, with data on stock numbers rarely accurate. This issue is exacerbated by the fact that the PPE is stored in 70 UK locations, as well as with suppliers and in China.

The Department should also set out how it intends to progress disputes on 176 PPE contracts, involving £2.7bn of taxpayers’ money. Little progress had been made on tackling fraudulent supply of goods, which the Department estimates at between 0.5% and 5% of expenditure, the committee added.

Due diligence checks were insufficient at the start of the pandemic, though the report acknowledged the need to act quickly at the outset. No attention was paid to the suppliers’ profit margin or to potential conflicts of interest, the MPs said.

Meg Hillier (pictured), chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: ‘The departure from normal approaches to due diligence, record keeping, decision-making and accountability in relation to PPE contracts puts a stain on the UK’s response to the pandemic.

‘Even if you accept that some proper procedure will have to slip in times of crisis the complete collapse of some of the most well-established civil service practices beggars belief. The taxpayer will be paying for these decisions for years to come.’