THE government spent £10 billion extra in inflated prices for Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) due to an inadequate stockpile and a surge in global demand, a report has concluded.
And of the 32 billion items procured between February and July, only 2.6bn were delivered to front-line organisations in that period, the National Audit Office (NAO) said, with demand so high in April and May that stock levels were “negligible” for most types of protection.
The Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC) paid 166 per cent more for respirator masks and 1,300 per cent more for body bags during the pandemic’s first wave this year compared with 2019.
The biggest strike in global history is a template for our future. The silence tells you all you need to know, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
Under Modi’s hard-right regime, India is going backwards — but not in the state of Kerala, where the communist-led government continues to deliver remarkable results in infrastructure, economic growth, healthcare, welfare, education, science and social harmony, reports PEOPLE’S DEMOCRACY



