Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) total cost to the public purse and (b) cost by country has been of storing personal protective equipment purchased by his Department abroad in each year since 2020.

In 2020/21, the total cost of storage for personal protective equipment (PPE), excluding detention and demurrage costs, was £168 million. Of this, £12 million was spent on storage in China and £156 million in the United Kingdom.

In 2021/22, the total cost of storage for PPE, excluding detention and demurrage was £267 million, which includes an estimate for costs in March 2022. Of this, £23 million was spent on storage in China and £244 million in the UK.