Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether an assessment has been made of the adequacy of the availability of personal protective equipment for BAME healthcare workers during the (a) first and (b) second wave of the covid-19 outbreak.

Since October 2020, the Department has received feedback on personal protective equipment (PPE) from users through regular customer engagement panels. Staff groups with protected characteristics, including those from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, have reported their experiences of the use and availability of PPE. Earlier in the pandemic, some BAME staff reported difficulty with the fit of some items of PPE. The Department has addressed these concerns through appropriate fit testing and by supplying a range of sizes to cater to a diverse range of users.