In a report published this week, the public accounts committee has identified “significant failings” in the management of PPE contracts that could lead to a £2.7 billion bill for taxpayers.
The quality of the PPE provided by the department of health and social care (DHSC), is still a matter of dispute between the parties. The department accepts that some surplus stock may end up being incinerated.
MPs say there is little sign of the government taking action against potentially fraudulent suppliers despite DHSC’s estimate that as much as 5 per cent of PPE expenditure may have involved fraud.
The committee concludes that “suppliers and intermediaries are likely to have made excessive profits while providing substandard PPE”.
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They say insufficient due diligence checks prior to many contract agreements have left the DHSC “paralysed” from acting in some cases. Disputes with suppliers on 176 PPE contracts worth up to £2.7 billion are still to be settled.
The DHSC spent more than £13 billion sourcing PPE during the pandemic but has since failed to set up a system to catalogue equipment, currently spread across 70 locations in the UK as well as in China.
MPs warn the government that it cannot assume that a rapid procurement of this scale will not again be necessary and call for more transparent and robust practices.
PAC chair Dame Meg Hillier MP said upon the report’s publication: “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.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said Politics.co.uk: “Our priority throughout the pandemic has been saving lives. Despite huge inflation in prices, and unprecedented global demand, over 21.4 billion PPE items were delivered to frontline staff to keep them safe. Only 3 per cent of the PPE that we procured was unusable in any context.
“It is simply wrong to suggest that the department does not know how much PPE it has, or where it is located. We have a complete data system that allows us to monitor the storage network and dispose off any excess stock.
“The department also takes fraud extremely seriously and is exploring every available option – including working with law enforcement partners – to bring those who commit fraud to account and seek to recover losses.”
