Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased to respond to covid-19 was incinerated; and what the value was of the incinerated PPE.

As of the end of September 2024, approximately 1,049,700 pallets, or 23%, of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been recycled through energy from waste and recycling. The original cost to purchase was £8.644 billion, and all stock categorised as excess has no residual market value.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the total cost of storing PPE in China was £60.6 million. PPE has not been stored outside of the United Kingdom since June 2023.