The government wasted billions of taxpayers’ money on unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) and has an “alarming” lack of plan for an emergency stockpile for future pandemics, MPs have warned.
In a damning report, the Commons Public Accounts Committee also scolded the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for “completely staggering” accounting failings that mean £3.3bn in NHS Test and Trace inventory could not be verified by proper financial records.
UKHSA was set up to replace Public Health England in 2021, absorbing the work of Test and Trace and playing a vital role in detecting potential variants of concern during the Covid pandemic.
But the cross-party committee found the body was established with “financial controls so poor” it was “unable to prepare auditable accounts”.
The report, which reviewed the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) 2021-22 finances, said: “UKHSA did not have effective control over its cash management process and did not even perform bank reconciliations, one of the most basic financial controls for an organisation.”
The committee also criticised a “lack of formal governance” and the appointment as chief executive of Dame Jenny Harries, who had “no previous technical experience in elements of running a complex organisation”.
This resulted in “inadequate scrutiny and assurance of UKHSA’s operations”, according to the MPs.
The report also noted the DHSC has “written off” £14.9bn of inventory in the past two years, including nearly £10 billion of unusable or unneeded PPE, as well as Covid medicines and vaccines.
Three years after the start of the pandemic, DHSC continues to pay large sums to store and dispose of the kit, estimating this “will cost £319 million over the next few years”, the report said.
No proper stocktakes of the existing PPE can be taken, as it would cost £70m to move and open inaccessible storage containers.
For the Government not to make serious preparations for any future pandemic would be utterly inexcusable— PAC chair Dame Meg Hillier
The MPs also warned the government risks exposing healthcare workers to shortages by failing to have a clear plan for a national emergency stockpile for future crises.
Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier said: “The UK Health Security Agency was set up with great fanfare in 2021, and rightly so given the significance of its role in leading protection against threats to our nation’s health.
“It is completely staggering, then, that an organisation envisaged as a foundation stone of our collective security was established with a leadership hamstrung by a lack of formal governance, and financial controls so poor that billions of pounds in NHS Test & Trace inventory can no longer be properly accounted for.
“It is greatly alarming that there is no clear plan from the government for an emergency stockpile of vaccines, medicines and PPE.
“Three years after the start of the pandemic, the government still has no proper controls over the PPE stocks it already has. This could leave front-line workers exposed in the future to shortages similar to those faced in 2020.
“For the government not to make serious preparations for any future pandemic would be utterly inexcusable.”
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “This is an utter shambles. It is shocking that the government failed to ensure that even the most basic checks were in place, while billions of taxpayers’ money was wasted on unusable PPE.”
A government spokesperson said: “In the face of an unprecedented pandemic, we had to compete in an overheated global market to procure items to protect the public, frontline health and care workers and our NHS.
“We were the first country in the world to deploy an approved Covid vaccine, with 144 million doses administered, and we have delivered over 25 billion items of PPE to the front line. Buying vital Covid vaccines and medicines saved countless lives and kept NHS and care staff safe.”
Dame Jenny said: “We have always taken our accounts and financial controls very seriously. The UKHSA was created in unprecedented circumstances when tackling Covid was our first priority, and we inherited significant pre-existing accounts challenges.
“We have already instituted strong governance arrangements in a hugely complex organisation at the earliest opportunity. This progress means our organisation is now substantially different in terms of stability, governance and financial controls.
“We are working with DHSC to ensure the robustness of our accounts is recognised both now and for the future. Despite these inherited financial challenges, the UKHSA continues to fulfil its priority remit – to protect lives.”
