The Covid inquiry has released its report examining government procurement of personal protective equipment during the pandemic, identifying significant inefficiencies and waste in how vital supplies were secured.
According to the inquiry’s findings, nearly £10 billion of taxpayer money was wasted on PPE purchases, representing approximately two-thirds of the £14.9 billion total spent by the UK and devolved governments on such equipment. Additional tens of millions of pounds were spent on equipment deemed unusable. Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett characterized the waste as “vast” but acknowledged that purchasing excess supplies during a crisis was preferable to shortages. She noted that more careful calibration between supply and demand could have prevented much of the unnecessary spending.
The inquiry documented that the country entered the pandemic with inadequate stockpiles of protective equipment. Large quantities of masks, gowns, and gloves in storage had expired or reached the end of their useful life. In England, only one-third of masks in the pre-pandemic stockpile remained usable, while Scotland possessed no supplies of FFP3 masks required by healthcare workers. This shortage forced some staff to improvise with materials like bin bags or to wash and reuse equipment.
The report sharply criticized a “VIP lane” system introduced in April 2020 in England, which prioritized PPE supply offers when they came with recommendations from ministers, MPs, or senior officials. Hallett described this as a “misguided attempt at prioritisation” that “embedded unfairness in emergency procurement.” While she found no evidence of cronyism or corruption among ministers and officials, the system was inherently biased toward those with government connections. The inquiry recommended such a system never be repeated in future pandemics.
The report notably excluded findings on PPE Medpro due to an ongoing National Crime Agency criminal investigation into the company. The firm, linked to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone through her husband, received government contracts worth more than £200 million and was later ordered to repay £148 million following a High Court breach of contract finding.
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