New report commissioned by Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, reveals multibillion price British taxpayers paid for reckless handling of Covid contracts
Failed pandemic-era PPE contracts cost the British taxpayer £1.4 billion, as an interim report commissioned by Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, lays bare the scale of the scandal.
The Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner’s report reveals the price the British public has paid for undelivered contracts which saw taxpayer cash squandered on unusable PPE.
ADVERTISEMENT: Invest Smarter. Zero Fees. Robinhood Trading Platform
The last government’s over-ordering of PPE, and delays in checking it, mean that £762 million is unlikely to ever be recovered. These failures saw substandard PPE – gowns, masks and visors - not inspected for two years, meaning public money could no longer be recouped.
Now Reeves is going further and faster to recover the £468 million that could still be recovered from suppliers – money which the government will put back into communities and public services including the NHS, police and armed forces.
Recovery action has so far resulted in £182 million being returned to the public purse, and PPE suppliers referred to the National Crime Agency for suspected fraud.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said:
Most of the wasted money went on surgical gowns. Over half (52%) were non-compliant, but because much of the defective PPE was not quality tested until after warranties had expired, there is little chance of recovering the money.
ADVERTISEMENT: Invest Smarter. Zero Fees. Robinhood Trading Platform
This interim report marks the end of Phase one of Commissioner Tom Hayhoe’s investigation– scrutinising PPE contracts. The Commissioner has now begun work on Phase two, which will see it investigating fraud and error in other pandemic spending programmes such as furlough, bounce-back loans, Business Support Grants and Eat Out to Help Out.
The Commissioner will provide a full update in a final report to the Chancellor at the conclusion of his term in December 2025.