• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

£2.1 Billion Wasted on Useless PPE – Five Times Higher Than Official Estimate

by Michael Curzon
25 July 2021 11:36 AM

Over the past year, the Government has wasted more than £2 billion on personal protective equipment (PPE) that could not be used in the NHS. The figure is five times higher than initial official estimates and still under-estimates the true cost. The Sunday Telegraph has the story.

Some 2.1 billion items of PPE have so far been deemed unfit to keep doctors and nurses safe in clinical settings – with 10,000 shipping containers-full still to be unpacked as of May this year, said the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The amount of unusable kit is five times higher than the number estimated by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in January, said the select committee, which monitors public expenditure.

The wasted sum forms part of the estimated £372 billion spent by the U.K. on pandemic-containing measures which will expose taxpayers to “significant financial risks for decades to come”, the cross-party committee warned in two reports published on Sunday.

MPs say they “remain concerned that despite spending over £10 billion on supplies, the PPE stockpile is not fit for purpose” with potential levels of waste “unacceptably high”.

As of May this year, out of 32 billion items of PPE ordered by the DHSC, 11 billion had been distributed, while 12.6 billion pieces are on standby at a cost of around £6.7 million a week in storage, the PAC said.

Some 8.4 billion pieces on order from around the globe have still not arrived in the U.K.

For excess PPE that is suitable for medical use, MPs said they are concerned the Government is “yet to create any robust plans for repurposing and distributing this essential stock in a way which ensures value for money and protects staff and patients”.

A public inquiry scheduled to start next spring into the Government’s handling of the pandemic will not come swiftly enough to ensure lessons are learned, the PAC added.

Ministers also risk undermining public trust by failing to swiftly publish the full details of contracts awarded, the report said.

The PAC noted that details of three-quarters of the 1,644 contracts over £25,000 awarded up to the end of July last year were not made public within the 90-day target.

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Economic costsNHSPPEThe Economy

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

News Round-Up

Next Post

Nightclub Bosses Willing to Take Government to Court Over Vaccine Passports

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

32 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

Special Episode of the Sceptic: Charles Cornish-Dale on Testosterone Decline, How the Modern World Is Making Us Sick and How to Save the West

by Richard Eldred
11 July 2025
2

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Emmanuel Macron Tells Bereaved Parents to Stop Dwelling on Their Stabbed Children and Focus on Saving the Planet

15 July 2025
by Steven Tucker

A School Excluding a 12 Year-Old Girl for Wearing a Union Jack Dress Must be a Wake-Up Call

15 July 2025
by C.J. Strachan

News Round-Up

15 July 2025
by Richard Eldred

John Torode Sacked From MasterChef After Complaint About ‘Racist Comment’ Seven Years Ago

15 July 2025
by Will Jones

The Trials of Generation Z

15 July 2025
by Sallust

A School Excluding a 12 Year-Old Girl for Wearing a Union Jack Dress Must be a Wake-Up Call

52

Labour to Reintroduce Grants for Electric Cars to ‘Bribe’ Motorists

36

News Round-Up

36

Emmanuel Macron Tells Bereaved Parents to Stop Dwelling on Their Stabbed Children and Focus on Saving the Planet

27

The Trials of Generation Z

18

A School Excluding a 12 Year-Old Girl for Wearing a Union Jack Dress Must be a Wake-Up Call

15 July 2025
by C.J. Strachan

The Deadline for Countries to Exempt Themselves From the New Pandemic International Health Regulations is This Week

15 July 2025
by Dr David Bell

Emmanuel Macron Tells Bereaved Parents to Stop Dwelling on Their Stabbed Children and Focus on Saving the Planet

15 July 2025
by Steven Tucker

Friedrich Merz is the Most Incompetent Chancellor Germany Has Ever Seen

14 July 2025
by Eugyppius

What’s the Truth About POTS?

14 July 2025
by Jane Walkington

POSTS BY DATE

July 2021
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Jun   Aug »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

POSTS BY DATE

July 2021
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Jun   Aug »

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Emmanuel Macron Tells Bereaved Parents to Stop Dwelling on Their Stabbed Children and Focus on Saving the Planet

15 July 2025
by Steven Tucker

A School Excluding a 12 Year-Old Girl for Wearing a Union Jack Dress Must be a Wake-Up Call

15 July 2025
by C.J. Strachan

News Round-Up

15 July 2025
by Richard Eldred

John Torode Sacked From MasterChef After Complaint About ‘Racist Comment’ Seven Years Ago

15 July 2025
by Will Jones

The Trials of Generation Z

15 July 2025
by Sallust

A School Excluding a 12 Year-Old Girl for Wearing a Union Jack Dress Must be a Wake-Up Call

52

Labour to Reintroduce Grants for Electric Cars to ‘Bribe’ Motorists

36

News Round-Up

36

Emmanuel Macron Tells Bereaved Parents to Stop Dwelling on Their Stabbed Children and Focus on Saving the Planet

27

The Trials of Generation Z

18

A School Excluding a 12 Year-Old Girl for Wearing a Union Jack Dress Must be a Wake-Up Call

15 July 2025
by C.J. Strachan

The Deadline for Countries to Exempt Themselves From the New Pandemic International Health Regulations is This Week

15 July 2025
by Dr David Bell

Emmanuel Macron Tells Bereaved Parents to Stop Dwelling on Their Stabbed Children and Focus on Saving the Planet

15 July 2025
by Steven Tucker

Friedrich Merz is the Most Incompetent Chancellor Germany Has Ever Seen

14 July 2025
by Eugyppius

What’s the Truth About POTS?

14 July 2025
by Jane Walkington

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment