A huge batch of PPE goggles purchased by the government during the Covid pandemic has been marked as ‘Do Not Supply’ (Image: Dominik Gibonmetro.co.uk/PA/Getty)
The government’s fast-track order for £12.6 million of personal protective equipment from a Chinese company has ended with all items being written off.
A safety goggle contract signed during the Covid pandemic resulted in all equipment being marked ‘Do Not Provide’.
The kit was provided by Liaoning Zhongqiao Overseas Exchange Co Ltd as the government struggled to find enough PPE to protect the NHS frontline.
The company was placed through a high-priority “VIP route” through the Duchy of Lancaster office, which was then overseen by Michael Gove.
New details about the deal came to light after the Information Commissioner’s Office ordered NHS Supply Chain, a health supply company, to disclose certain information.
Supply Chain cited “commercial interests” in refusing to provide details of the transaction in response to a request filed by the company under the Freedom of Information Act Subway.
The national authority also refused to reveal where the items were stored, saying it would create “additional security risks from unannounced visits.”
The UK government has come under intense pressure to provide personal protective equipment to frontline health services during Covid (Image: AFP/Image file)
Subway he then complained to the Information Commissioner, who ruled that the information must be provided and stated: “The Commissioner is not satisfied that the public authorities have established a causal link between the disclosure of this information and… any detriment to DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care) ) commercial interests.”
The ICO also found that the defendant had breached Art. 10 of the Freedom of Information Act because he failed to provide the requested information within 20 working days.
In response to the ruling, Supply Chain Comination Ltd, whose trading name is the organization, provided two short pieces of information.
The company said “all purchased items” were placed in the “Do Not Deliver” category and “remaining stock that has not been removed” is being held at Daventry in Northamptonshire.
The PPE saga continues to unfold
Liaoning Zhongqiao’s goggle deal fits into a broader picture of the colossal waste of personal protective equipment that is still coming to light, almost three years after the end of Covid restrictions.
In March 2022, the National Audit Office found that the DHSC was holding approximately 3.6 billion items deemed unfit for immediate use. The items were purchased for £2.9 billion.
Problems concerned the classification of PPE as ‘unfit for any use’ and therefore becoming ‘waste’. In other cases, frontline services preferred alternative products, such as face shields requiring self-assembly or gowns packaged flat rather than on a roll.
In January, the DHSC’s own figures showed that almost £10 billion was spent on faulty or unusable PPE.
No information was provided as to why the goggles were found to be insufficient for use or the context of the word “throw away”.
Jo Maugham, executive director of the Good Law Project, a not-for-profit campaign group, said: “It’s bad enough that we paid these millions of pounds to one of Michael Gove’s VIPs for goggles that are unfit for use on the NHS.
“But even worse is the attempt to cover up the fact that the goggles were unusable.
“Everyone seems to have forgotten that this is public money and they are responsible to us, the public, for this money.”
The medical goggles contract was signed on 23 April 2020 by DHSC via the Government’s ‘high priority’ line for PPE transactions.
A day earlier, then Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that the virus had reached its “peak” in the UK and the government was “working relentlessly” to provide more protective equipment.
Michael Gove was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the time of the PPE agreement with Liaoning Zhongqiao (Image: Pennsylvania)
The deal shows DHSC has agreed to pay half of the £12.6 million before the final shipment is cleared from a secured warehouse.
Interestingly, Liaoning Zhongqiao listed the “supplier” address as a post office box in the village of Chirn Park on Australia’s Gold Coast.
The district’s logo includes a parrot emblem. They are characterized by neat bungalows and a vibrant art scene.
Elsewhere in the document, Liaoning Zhongqiao’s registered address is on a street in the Shenyang region of southern China. The company is said to be owned by an Australian company.
At the beginning of the pandemic, supplies of personal protective equipment were in short supply, prompting the government to look overseas for suppliers (Image: Jon Super/AP)
The deal is part of a staggering total of losses from contracts signed during Covid that are still unraveled almost three years since the end of Covid restrictions.
Subway previously revealed that almost two million gowns and 300,000 goggles were offered to NATO countries after they failed to reach the NHS supply chain.
Items purchased from several companies in China and Hong Kong were auctioned on the online portal but were withdrawn because no purchases were made.
Another deal, believed to be the most wasteful deal made by the government during the pandemic, included the destruction or write-off of around £1.4 billion of personal protective equipment, according to the BBC.
Overall, almost £10 billion was wasted on faulty or unusable PPE during the crisis, according to figures published by the DHSC in January.
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The Good Law project has uncovered a VIP line for PPE suppliers in what it says is “one of the most egregious examples of political fraud and mismanagement of public money in recent times.”
A DHSC spokesman said: “The Chancellor has announced plans to appoint a Covid corruption commissioner and the Government has pledged to do everything in its power to recover taxpayers’ money where possible.
“This government has also announced a block on any further PPE contracts until they are independently assessed by a soon-to-be appointed commissioner.”
Subway tried to contact Mr Gove for comment.
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