Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the healthcare equipment that NHS England stockpiled for use in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal has expiry dates which will be surpassed by the 31 October 2019.

NHS England has not stockpiled healthcare equipment for use in the event of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a deal. The Department increased stockholding through its national procurement and logistics operation, NHS Supply Chain, as part of its contingency arrangements for the UK leaving the EU without a deal. The majority of the stockpiled medical devices and clinical consumables products have shelf lives that extend beyond 31 October 2019; however, as part of good inventory management practice, products are routinely rotated to ensure they are used ahead of expiry.