More about the billion £s of PPE we did not get...

Some may recall that I recently wrote to my MP, the Rt Hon James Cleverly, regarding the issue surrounding the placing of something close to a billion £s of government contracts for PPE with companies who were manifestly unsuited to the task or who have not delivered or both.
He has replied. I take some small comfort from the following line in his response, which is otherwise anodyne: " If it is the case that contract commitments are not met, I am confident that my colleagues in the department will take action against organisations which have received money from taxpayers; I will certainly monitor this issue extremely closely."

The full transcript of his reply is here:

Dear Richard,

Thank you for contacting me about the supply of personal protective equipment to people working in health and social care.

I would like to reassure you that ensuring our frontline staff are properly protected is of paramount importance to me, and to my colleagues on all sides of Parliament. I know that my colleague the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is taking this issue extremely seriously, and I welcome the collaboration between officials, NHS staff and our armed services over the past few months to help distribute supply of the equipment. I will continue to closely scrutinise steps being taken to ensure that all health and social care staff, whether they work in the NHS or other care facilities, are adequately protected and able to carry out their vital roles safely.

As part of an unprecedented response to this pandemic, my colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care have drawn on the expertise and resources of a number of public and private sector partners to support our NHS and social care sector. PPE is created to strict specifications and requirements in order to ensure the safety of its users. The Government has published these specifications online and sought to hear from any manufacturers who can produce PPE in line with these requirements.

It is a testament to the ingenuity of British businesses that they have been able to adapt existing resources in a time of great need for the country, and I am extremely grateful to all organisations that have offered their services at this time. I am confident that these providers will be held to the highest standards to ensure that the best service possible is delivered. If it is the case that contract commitments are not met, I am confident that my colleagues in the department will take action against organisations which have received money from taxpayers; I will certainly monitor this issue extremely closely.

I welcome the creation of a cross-government PPE unit, led by Lord Deighton who helped deliver the London 2012 Olympics, to secure new supply lines from across the world. It has published rigorous standards against which it will buy. Expert procurement professionals have been drafted in to identify PPE suppliers from across the globe to meet the increasing demand for a growing list of PPE products. The Government taking an open source approach and involving partners around the world in a co-ordinated procurement programme. This is only one strand in the approach to increasing future supply of PPE. The Government is also calling on our homegrown industries to come forward to create new PPE manufacturing capabilities in the UK. Many businesses have generously come forward with offers to turn over their production lines as part of the national effort.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
I have responded to him in the following terms:

Dear Mr Cleverly,

I thank you for your reply in which I take some small comfort from the following line: "I am confident that my colleagues in the department will take action against organisations which have received money from taxpayers; I will certainly monitor this issue extremely closely."

My own confidence is not as high and I too shall watch developments closely over the coming weeks and months. In due course there has to be some sort of reckoning for what has, or more notably, has not transpired during this emergency.

Yours faithfully,
Richard Woods