Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL10548), what representations they have received about the inexperience of personal protective equipment suppliers awarded a Government contract this year; and what assessment they have made of the impact on public confidence in the probity of their procurement process of their refusal to disclose non-commercial information about the companies whose offers were reviewed in a timely manner.

The Government issued a public call to action to support the increased requirements of personal protective equipment (PPE) in March and has always been clear that the purpose of this was to reach suppliers who not only had experience of supplying PPE but also those who had no prior experience but who had access to sources of PPE through their business contacts or could re-purpose to supply PPE. This resulted in over 15,000 suppliers offering their help and support.

All offers went through the same eight stage assurance process which selected suppliers based on the product type, clinical acceptability, price, forecasted delivery dates, volume and financial standing.

All the Contract Award Notices for these PPE contacts have now been published online as well as the majority of the contracts themselves and the balance will be published shortly. These contain the details of all suppliers awarded a PPE contract, the value of the contract and the items ordered under the contract.