Specialists International
This Knowledge Check tests UK Global Healthcare Limited v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2026] EWHC 561 (TCC). Two pandemic contracts required the supply of 320 million medical gloves, for which the Department of Health and Social Care paid GBP 15.35 million in advance.
No gloves were delivered. The Department sought summary judgment for repayment and strike-out of the supplier's claim, relying on missed time-of-the-essence dates, termination and expiry. The supplier alleged that extra-contractual testing, rejection and failures to cooperate had prevented delivery or displaced the original dates.
Mr Justice Constable found multiple issues requiring a trial, including variation, waiver, estoppel, prevention, the alleged rejection of the gloves and the operation of the repayment clause. The Department's application was dismissed.
- The two contracts and advance payments
- Time-of-the-essence delivery dates
- The contractual inspection and rejection regime
- Extra-contractual pre-delivery testing
- No-oral-modification and no-waiver clauses
- The prevention principle
- Termination, expiry and advance-payment recovery
- The summary judgment threshold and result