Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps he has taken to recall public money from faulty products delivered by private suppliers during the covid-19 outbreak.

Throughout the pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the private sector, procuring expertise and large volumes of goods and services with extreme urgency – including 22,000 ventilators for use by the NHS and 32 billion items of PPE to protect our frontline workers.

Where products have not met required standards then Departments will pursue recourse under the terms of the respective contracts as appropriate.

In particular, the Department of Health and Social Care is pursuing contractual recourse against a small number of companies where they supplied goods or services that did not meet contracted requirements. Cabinet Office is supporting these efforts where appropriate.