Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to ensure that supplies of (a) hand sanitiser and (b) face masks are not rapidly depleted by panic buying as a result of covid-19.

The UK is well prepared for this type of outbreak; we are taking all necessary precautions to protect the public, including engaging with industry and the business community to discuss their preparedness planning. We will continue to work closely with sectors, companies, and business representative organisations to ensure we are fully aware of the issues and impacts businesses are facing and how we can best provide support.

In order to help the industry respond to Covid-19, the Government has announced that it will work with local authorities to extend the hours in which deliveries can be made to supermarkets and other food retailers. This will allow retailers to increase the frequency of their deliveries and move stock more quickly from warehouses to shelves.