Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help improve the resilience of national stockpiles of critical pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Stockpiling is one of a number of measures used to strengthen the resilience of essential healthcare supply chains, along with diversification, support for domestic manufacturing, and international collaboration.

The Department has established shortage management procedures to help mitigate the patient impact of supply disruption, including sourcing alternative products, serious shortage protocols, and a global logistics contingency. Further, NHS England's procurement arrangements include requirements for suppliers of certain secondary care medicines to hold buffer stocks to help manage disruption.

Given the global nature of the supply chains for critical pharmaceuticals and medical devices, the Government continues to work with international partners, including the European Union, and across the supply chain to strengthen resilience, reduce vulnerabilities, and support reliable access to essential products for patients.