Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been reclaimed from suppliers of COVID-19 pandemic-related personal protective equipment which was judged not fit for purpose; and what plans they have to pursue further claims.

The Department is working through all its personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to identify instances where products have not been delivered or failed quality tests and will seek to recover the costs for undelivered or substandard PPE.

As of 27 July 2021, the Department was engaged in commercial discussions (potentially leading to litigation) in respect to 40 PPE contracts with a combined value of £1.2 billion covering 1.7 billion items of PPE.