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The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has concluded that the UK government and devolved administrations purchased approximately £14.9 billion of personal protective equipment (PPE), of which almost £10 billion was wasted, while identifying significant weaknesses in pandemic preparedness, procurement systems and emergency planning.
The findings are part of Module 5: Procurement, published on Wednesday by Inquiry Chair Baroness Heather Hallett, which examined how healthcare equipment, including PPE, ventilators and testing equipment, was procured and distributed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the introduction to the report, Hallett said, “It is a stark fact that the UK government and devolved administrations purchased approximately £14.9 billion of PPE and yet almost £10 billion of this was wasted.” She added that avoiding such levels of waste in future would require investment in “high-quality information systems and modern technology” to improve emergency procurement and distribution.
According to the report, the UK government and devolved administrations spent approximately £42.3 billion on PPE, ventilators, and testing equipment between January 1, 2020, and June 28, 2022. The expenditure included approximately £14.9 billion on PPE, more than £25 billion on NHS Test and Trace, and approximately £700 million on ventilators. The Inquiry said that nearly two-thirds of the PPE spending—almost £10 billion—was wasted.
The inquiry found that the UK entered the pandemic with an inadequate stockpile of PPE, shortages of vital equipment, and large quantities of expired stock, while there were no proper plans for the procurement and distribution of key healthcare equipment in an emergency. It said these shortcomings left health and social care workers without adequate protection during the early stages of the pandemic.
The report said ministers and officials were forced to improvise emergency procurement and distribution systems because of the lack of planning and preparedness. Although it noted that healthcare equipment was eventually obtained “at the speed and scale the crisis demanded,” it said the response came at “huge cost” both financially and in terms of the pressure placed on officials.
The Inquiry also examined the controversial High Priority Lane, also known as the VIP Lane, through which certain PPE offers were prioritised. Hallett said the Inquiry found “no evidence of corruption on the part of ministers or officials”, but “evidence of favourable treatment to some suppliers.” She added that the High Priority Lane had “understandably, and in my view rightly, been the subject of significant public concern.”
The executive summary identifies several weaknesses in the UK’s emergency procurement system, including inadequate management of the PPE stockpile, insufficient plans to rapidly expand procurement during a pandemic, outdated data and technology systems, inadequate procurement expertise, and a lack of transparency that undermined public confidence. It also found that the UK’s supplier base was too concentrated in a single country, China, and that domestic manufacturing capability had not been adequately considered in pandemic planning.
The report makes 11 recommendations aimed at strengthening emergency procurement, improving supply chain resilience, increasing domestic manufacturing capability, and placing data and technology at the centre of future pandemic preparedness.
