---
title: "PPE Manufacturing And Pandemic Preparedness"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE"
published: "2026-06-01"
---

# PPE Manufacturing And Pandemic Preparedness

Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05.json)

## Summary

The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) in the UK is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process titled "PPE Manufacturing And Pandemic Preparedness." This initiative is aimed at reinforcing the nation's response capabilities for pandemics through market engagement to assess domestic and international manufacturing capacities for personal protective equipment (PPE). The engagement exercise is set in London with key deadlines, including a response submission by 30th June 2026 at 23:59. The industry falls under the category of medical equipment and personal care products, focusing on goods procurement. This planning phase seeks to inform future policy and procurement strategies but does not yet signify the commencement of the competitive tendering process.

This market engagement exercise presents a vital opportunity for businesses within the medical supplies and safety equipment sectors, particularly those capable of rapidly scaling up PPE production in pandemic situations. Enterprises not currently engaged in PPE manufacturing but with potential capabilities to shift are also encouraged to participate. The exercise aims to gather insights into existing manufacturing capacities, identify constraints, and explore the ability to adapt processes swiftly in times of emergency. Companies willing to pivot existing operations to PPE production or that have done so successfully in the past may find this exercise especially beneficial, positioning them advantageously for potential future procurements by the DHSC. It is not meant for innovation or technology development efforts, which are directed towards alternative initiatives like the Biosecurity Frontiers competition.

## Notice

Background Personal protective equipment and hygiene consumables (PPE) is a critical component of the health and social care system's ability to respond effectively to pandemics and other public health emergencies. During the COVID 19 pandemic, unprecedented global demand for PPE placed significant pressure on international supply chains, highlighted vulnerabilities in availability and production capacity, and emphasised the importance of resilience, flexibility and rapid scale up capability. To support HMG's Pandemic Preparedness Strategy, and incorporate lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) is conducting this market engagement to better understand the capacity for domestic and international PPE manufacturing, and impacts on this production in a future pandemic. Engagement Objective Through this market engagement, DHSC wants to build a clearer picture of: * Your current PPE manufacturing capability and capacity (products, volumes, lead times, and constraints). * If you are not a PPE supplier today, whether (and how) your organisation could pivot to PPE manufacture (capability, requirements, and timescales). * How capacity could change during a pandemic surge, including key challenges, dependencies, and opportunities to increase output. * Were you an organisation that attempted to pivot or previously supplied PPE that no longer currently does. All respondents will be asked to complete a questionnaire covering these topics. This can be found in the following link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MIwnYaiRMUyMH-9N6Jc6HAKxbC1k63lNsNWq5Fxa0I5UMVVHQ1BCRlJDWUJXQ1cwN0NIN0w4VVhGRy4u DHSC may contact respondents to clarify information in their response. This may take the form of a follow-up one-to-one meeting during or after the engagement, or a small roundtable discussion. This notice relates to a market engagement exercise for information gathering purposes only. It is not a call for competition and does not constitute the start of a procurement process. The information gathered may be used to inform future policy development and, where appropriate, the design of any potential future procurement activity. The deadline for responses is 30/06/2026 at 23:59. If you have any questions, please contact PandemicPrepPPE@dhsc.gov.uk. Additional information This engagement is focused on organisations with the capability to scale or pivot PPE production rapidly in response to a pandemic scenario, using established or near operational manufacturing processes. Innovation focused activity, including the development of novel technologies or concepts at lower technology readiness levels (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/defence-and-security-accelerator-terms-and-conditions-and-contract-guidance#what-dasa-funds), is better supported through alternative mechanisms such as the Biosecurity Frontiers competition (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/biosecurity-frontiers/biosecurity-frontiers-competition-document), which is designed to fund and test emerging solutions for future biosecurity challenges.

### Planning Information

Background
Personal protective equipment and hygiene consumables (PPE) is a critical component of the health and social care system’s ability to respond effectively to pandemics and other public health emergencies. 
During the COVID 19 pandemic, unprecedented global demand for PPE placed significant pressure on international supply chains, highlighted vulnerabilities in availability and production capacity, and emphasised the importance of resilience, flexibility and rapid scale up capability. 
To support HMG’s Pandemic Preparedness Strategy, and incorporate lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) is conducting this market engagement to better understand the capacity for domestic and international PPE manufacturing, and impacts on this production in a future pandemic.
Engagement Objective
Through this market engagement, DHSC wants to build a clearer picture of:
• Your current PPE manufacturing capability and capacity (products, volumes, lead times, and constraints).
• If you are not a PPE supplier today, whether (and how) your organisation could pivot to PPE manufacture (capability, requirements, and timescales).
• How capacity could change during a pandemic surge, including key challenges, dependencies, and opportunities to increase output.
• Were you an organisation that attempted to pivot or previously supplied PPE that no longer currently does.
All respondents will be asked to complete a questionnaire covering these topics. This can be found in the following link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MIwnYaiRMUyMH-9N6Jc6HAKxbC1k63lNsNWq5Fxa0I5UMVVHQ1BCRlJDWUJXQ1cwN0NIN0w4VVhGRy4u 
DHSC may contact respondents to clarify information in their response. This may take the form of a follow-up one-to-one meeting during or after the engagement, or a small roundtable discussion.
This notice relates to a market engagement exercise for information gathering purposes only. It is not a call for competition and does not constitute the start of a procurement process. The information gathered may be used to inform future policy development and, where appropriate, the design of any potential future procurement activity.
The deadline for responses is 30/06/2026 at 23:59. If you have any questions, please contact PandemicPrepPPE@dhsc.gov.uk.
Additional information
This engagement is focused on organisations with the capability to scale or pivot PPE production rapidly in response to a pandemic scenario, using established or near operational manufacturing processes. Innovation focused activity, including the development of novel technologies or concepts at lower technology readiness levels (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/defence-and-security-accelerator-terms-and-conditions-and-contract-guidance#what-dasa-funds), is better supported through alternative mechanisms such as the Biosecurity Frontiers competition (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/biosecurity-frontiers/biosecurity-frontiers-competition-document), which is designed to fund and test emerging solutions for future biosecurity challenges.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/051268-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 29 Jun 2026 - 1 Jul 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1H 0EU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 18 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories
- 19 - Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials
- 33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 39 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products

### Codes

- 18130000 - Special workwear
- 18142000 - Safety visors
- 18143000 - Protective gear
- 19000000 - Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials
- 33000000 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
- 33100000 - Medical equipments
- 33140000 - Medical consumables
- 33199000 - Medical clothing
- 33735100 - Protective goggles
- 35113000 - Safety equipment
- 35113400 - Protective and safety clothing
- 35113410 - Garments for biological or chemical protection
- 39500000 - Textile articles

## Release History

- 1 Jun 2026 at 10:09 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/051268-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/051268-2026
  1st June 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MIwnYaiRMUyMH-9N6Jc6HAKxbC1k63lNsNWq5Fxa0I5UMVVHQ1BCRlJDWUJXQ1cwN0NIN0w4VVhGRy4u
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/biosecurity-frontiers/biosecurity-frontiers-competition-document
- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/defence-and-security-accelerator-terms-and-conditions-and-contract-guidance#what-dasa-funds
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06aa05.json.