THE Government had to act fast to get bulk PPE at good value during the early days of the pandemic, Colchester’s MP said.

Health minister Will Quince told the House of Commons he recalled the initial days in 2020 well.

He said: “Planes turned around on the tarmac, countries imposing export bans, a huge inflation in global prices and the price of crucial items like gloves increasing six-fold.

“These were the conditions under which tough decisions were taken.

Gazette: Protection - PPE and protection measuresProtection - PPE and protection measures (Image: Archant)

“These were the decisions under which PPE was procured.

“And these were the conditions under which we stepped up to protect our most vulnerable and save lives.”

Karl Turner, Labour MP for Hull East, asked: “How does he possibly square the fact that Arco – a leading clinical PPE supplier to the NHS since its very inception [which] has existed in Hull for more than 100 years – didn’t get a sniff at any contracts from the Department of Health because they weren’t anywhere near a VIP lane?

“Just fess up, say sorry.”

Mr Quince responded: “He will know that civil servants had to take decisions about speed and pace and quantity.

“They were looking at contracts that would get the most amount of PPE for the best value money as quickly as possible.”