Some PPE exported to the EU could have been used in the UK

“Over the last few days it has emerged that British manufacturers have got in touch with many members of the opposition, probably members across the House, saying that they offered to help produce protective equipment but they didn't get a response from the government.

“Now I do understand due diligence and that all the offers could not be taken up but some of those who offered to help are now supplying to other countries so they clearly could have supplied in this country and something is going wrong.” 

Keir Starmer, 22 April 2020 

“He has mentioned offers from British businesses and it is not quite right to say they must have been acceptable for UK standards just because they are supplying different needs in different countries abroad.” 

Dominic Raab, 22 April 2020

At PMQs last week, Labour leader Keir Starmer and First Secretary Dominic Raab disagreed over whether personal protective equipment (PPE) being exported from the UK could have been used in the UK.

Mr Starmer said that some PPE suppliers who had offered to help the UK government have exported to other countries already “so they clearly could have supplied in this country.”

Mr Raab was technically right in saying that the fact that PPE is being exported does not mean it definitely could have been used in the UK, as the UK has different product standards to other countries. 

But in practical terms, some of the PPE being exported from the UK definitely could have been used here.

What are the regulations around PPE?

In normal times, PPE supplies the UK sold for use in the EU definitely could be used here as there is no difference on the regulation of PPE between the EU and the UK.

While the UK has already left the EU, during the transition period (which is due to run to the end of 2020) the British Standards Institution (BSI), which sets standards in the UK, is obliged to implement EU standards without modification. 

However, a BSI spokesperson told us that while “the regulatory requirements and national standards are the same in UK and EU countries,” they also cautioned that some countries may choose to relax the normal EU standards as an emergency response to the pandemic.

For example, Spain temporarily relaxed the requirement for EU regulations to apply to the manufacture of surgical masks, gowns, hand gels and sanitisers. The Dutch authorities told us it had approved the use of face masks that conform to some Chinese and American standards. 

This would mean that, while the UK and the EU have the same standards in normal times, at the moment, exports of PPE from the UK to the EU would not necessarily be compliant for UK use.

But putting that aside, on the day of PMQs, the Telegraph newspaper’s front page carried a story about the export of face masks to the EU by a firm called Veenak International.

A spokesperson for Veenak told us that the PPE shipped back to the EU conformed to European standards, which means that even if those EU countries have relaxed their standards, this kit was compliant with normal EU-standards and so fit for use in the UK.

Veenak’s spokesperson told us the company was now mainly supplying into the UK.

A government spokesperson told Full Fact: "We are incredibly grateful [for] thousands of offers of support from suppliers as part of the national effort to ensure that appropriate PPE is reaching the frontline. 

"We are working rapidly to assess these offers, ensuring they meet the safety and quality standards that our NHS and social care workers need, and prioritising offers of larger volumes."