Angela Rayner, Labour Party deputy leader, says, “The British public will be disgusted by this outrageous waste of tax dollars.”
In China, government expenditure on storing personal protective equipment (PPE) increased by £2.35 million in the year leading up to January, as households struggled to make ends meet amidst a rising cost of living.
According to data disclosed by the Labour Party, between February 2021 and January 2022, the taxpayer paid £23.5 million to store life-saving protective equipment, but in the same period the following year, the cost rose to £25.9 million.
Between January 2022 and January 2023, the government spent £312 million on PPE.
PPE storage cost £18 million in January 2023, down from £35 million in 2022. Indicating that PPE storage continues to cost the government $580,000 per day.
PPE storage will cost £211 million in 2023, down from £294 million in 2022.
John O’Connell, chief executive officer of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, stated, “While costs are decreasing, the COVID legacy continues to impose a massive burden on taxpayers.
“Although ministers had to work fast in unprecedented circumstances, households are still facing a staggering bill for past errors.
“Ministers must get a grip on this spending once and for all.”
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, stated, “The British public will be understandably sickened by this outrageous squandering of tax dollars.
As families in Britain are forced to pay yet another council tax increase, they will be rightly outraged to discover that more of their hard-earned taxes are still being sent to China every day to cover eye-watering storage costs for useless PPE for which they’ve already paid billions. It is putting salt in the wound.
Under Labour, the Office of Value for Money will protect taxpayers’ money.
According to the analysis of the party, the amount the government spends on PPE storage in China could pay for 512 containers of gasoline per day or the annual energy bill for nearly 18,000 one-bedroom apartments in the United Kingdom.
Since the pandemic, PPE storage prices have plummeted. And the UK government has pledged to spend less on its 5.8 billion extra PPE pieces.
In response, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated, “Since the peak of the pandemic. PPE storage costs have decreased significantly, and we continue to prioritize efforts to reduce them.” Since the first quarter of 2021, we have already reduced storage expenses by 78%.
“We continue to sell, donate, repurpose, and recycle surplus PPE in the most cost-effective manner possible. Also seek to recover costs from suppliers whenever possible to maximize taxpayer value for money.”
As the United Kingdom continues to struggle with the cost of living crisis and ongoing strikes contribute to economic stagnation, government expenditure remains under scrutiny as the tax burden remains the highest it has been in the past half-century.
The Office of National Statistics estimates 10.4% inflation and 18.2% food inflation, making it harder for people to afford necessities.
