PPE procurement drive left civil servants ‘drowning’ in VIP requests
Good Law Project says government’s “high-priority lane” for suppliers hampered officials’ ability to buy necessary equipment from legitimate suppliers
Barrington Coombs/EMPICS Entertainment
23 Apr 2021
Emergency measures introduced to speed up the procurement of personal protective equipment in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic were an obstacle to civil servants’ efforts, according to campaign group the Good Law Project.
The group said the “high-priority lane” – or “VIP lane” – for suppliers that allowed ministers and officials to endorse firms left civil servants snowed under with offers from unsuitable providers.
It said the insight came from e-mail communications between civil servants provided as part of its High Court bid to force government to publish full details of its PPE procurement.