Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the PPE High Priority Lane during the covid-19 pandemic, what recent steps he has taken to pursue contractual remedies to recover funding in instances where contracts failed to deliver.

The High Priority Lane prioritised offers of personal protective equipment (PPE), with all offers of PPE going through a structured, documented process regardless of the source of the offer.

The Department established a Contract Dissolution Team to maximise the value obtained from contracts for PPE. Where a contract has been found to have underperformed, or the PPE provided was not up to standard, the team will commence a process, up to and including legal action, to reach the best possible outcome for taxpayer’s money.

We cannot go into the detail of individual contracts at this stage while negotiations and other activities, including legal process, are on-going. Once all activity is complete, we will be able to release more information.