The Government is spending millions of pounds a week storing items of PPE. Around 13.2 billion items, including masks, gowns and gloves, are being stored.
A Sunday Mirror investigation found it is costing around £2.2 million a week. The staggering figure includes some 7.4 billion masks, which are sitting in warehouses across the UK.
Back in March it was estimated that 15 billion items were in storage - with 10% of that figure still in China waiting to be shipped. At the time officials said they were considering burning some items.
Labour MP Nick Smith said: “The Government’s procurement of PPE has become a never-ending tale of expensive waste.”
In November it was revealed some PPE was being stashed in storage containers, rented at a cost of £1m a day. In February the Mirror reported the UK government was renting space in Shanghai to store items - with officials fearing the items will deteriorate because of being stored in such conditions.
The Labour MP added: "The health department has been trying to resolve disputed contracts worth £2.6bn since the start of 2022. The cost of storing its useless PPE is now upward of £2.2m per week.
“How much are the Government’s procurement failures going to end up costing the public purse? At a time of financial crisis, the Prime Minister needs to get a grip of this mess.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We continue to sell, donate, repurpose and recycle excess PPE in the most cost-effective way, as well as seeking to recover costs from suppliers wherever possible to ensure taxpayer value for money. We are also exploring innovative solutions to reprocess excess PPE into materials or new products that have further uses."
