Covid-19: PPE Procurement - Commons Urgent Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:54 pm on 30 November 2022.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lord Markham Lord Markham The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care 3:54, 30 November 2022

I will happily provide those updated figures in writing; I thank the noble Lord for his question because it sparked a number of inquiries on my front. As he will be aware, I am only two months into this job. But one of those very questions—a hard question for us to think about—is the cost of storage versus, dare I say, scrapping it, because we have tried to donate all we can from it, and, God forbid, having to buy it again if there is another pandemic. In many cases it is cheaper right now to scrap it and buy it again at current prices. Of course, you cannot be certain whether prices could then get inflated again, but I hope your Lordships can tell from this answer that I am very much looking into the cost-benefit of the best approach.