Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question 31569 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, if he will make an estimate of the (a) weekly and (b) total cost to the public purse of storing PPE related to Covid-19 in 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The programme to dispose of excess COVID-19 related personal protective equipment (PPE) stock through sales, donations, recycling and energy from waste concluded in January 2025.
The storage costs for COVID-19 related PPE incurred in January 2025 were £300,000. In January 2024 and January 2023, the storage costs were £7,700,000 and £18,600,000 respectively.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question 31569 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, if he will breakdown the programme of work to reduce excess PPE stock.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The programme to dispose of excess COVID-19 related personal protective equipment (PPE) stock through sales, donations, recycling and energy from waste concluded in January 2025.
The storage costs for COVID-19 related PPE incurred in January 2025 were £300,000. In January 2024 and January 2023, the storage costs were £7,700,000 and £18,600,000 respectively.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost for the storage of PPE related to Covid-19 was in 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The cost of storing personal protective equipment (PPE) bought in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for the calendar year 2024 was approximately £60 million. The programme of work to reduce excess PPE stock has now concluded.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Figure 6: High-priority lane for the procurement of personal protective equipment, Data on sources on page 28 of the National Audit Office report entitled Investigation into government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic, HC 959, published 26 November 2020, what the categories were of the three leads from other identified sources that did not fall into the categories identified in Figure 6.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
There are active legal proceedings at the moment in relation to this matter and, as such, it would not be appropriate to comment while these are ongoing.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what peer-reviewed evidence UK Health Security Agency holds on the effectiveness of wearing face masks in public for the prevention of transmission of covid-19.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and one of its predecessor organisations, Public Health England, undertook and published multiple rapid evidence reviews on the effectiveness of face coverings in community settings for the prevention of transmission of COVID-19. The first review of the effectiveness of face coverings masks in non-healthcare settings was published on 26 June 2020, with the first updated published on 29 January 2021, followed by a second update on 9 November 2021.
The second update included 25 studies, two randomised controlled trials and 23 observational studies. Although the quality of the evidence was low/medium, it predominantly suggested that face coverings help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community, through source control, wearer protection and universal masking. 14 of the 25 studies identified were peer-reviewed, nine were preprints and two were non-peer-reviewed reports. All studies were assessed by an experienced UKHSA evidence reviewer and checked by a second reviewer using the quality criteria checklist.
Due to the pace of the UKHSA COVID-19 pandemic response, independent peer review was not sought prior to publication but all evidence reviews have been subject to an internal quality assurance and formal clearance process prior to publication. All UKHSA publications contain information regarding evidence quality and review processes included for each subject reviewed.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the value for money of personal protective equipment procured under covid-19 emergency regulations.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Government Internal Audit Agency analysed prices paid for individual products across the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain including 12 contracts in detail and found that there was a proportionate control environment in place that balanced the need to urgently obtain PPE at scale and pace, with the need to secure value for money.
As well as due diligence checks there was systematic price benchmarking. Prices were evaluated against the need for the product, the quantity available, the specification of the product and how quickly it could be delivered. Many deals were rejected or renegotiated as initial prices offered were not acceptable.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the value for money of personal protective equipment procured under covid-19 emergency regulations.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Government Internal Audit Agency analysed prices paid for individual products across the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain including 12 contracts in detail and found that there was a proportionate control environment in place that balanced the need to urgently obtain PPE at scale and pace, with the need to secure value for money.
As well as due diligence checks there was systematic price benchmarking. Prices were evaluated against the need for the product, the quantity available, the specification of the product and how quickly it could be delivered. Many deals were rejected or renegotiated as initial prices offered were not acceptable.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the names of (a) Ministers (b) Members of Parliament and (c) Officials who referred firms onto expedited route for supplying personal protective equipment.
Answered by Will Quince
Details of the High Priority Lane were published on 17 November 2021. This list was updated on the 11 February 2022 and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ppe-procurement-in-the-early-pandemic
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) they currently have in stock in preparation for a further surge of COVID-19; and whether they will list the main suppliers for the current stock.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
As of September 2022, the Department holds 9.4 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE), which could be used in response to a further wave of COVID-19. The Department has committed to providing PPE for free until the end of March 2023 and holds sufficient stocks to meet projected demand across all categories.
We are unable to provide the information requested on the suppliers for current stocks. When a product is quality assured and joins the supply chain, its source is not recorded.