Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 131 of the Cabinet Office's Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21, who provided the machines for the manufacture of face coverings whose value has been written off by his Department.

The write down in the Cabinet Office - Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 relates to an initial purchase of semi-automated face covering manufacturing plants acquired at the outset of the pandemic to provide initial domestic resilience while we were facing worldwide shortages. These machines were replaced by fully automated machines. As a result of this investment, more than 13 million masks for public use have already been made and millions more will be produced in the coming months. This programme has helped ensure public demand for face coverings has not affected the supply of higher-grade masks needed by NHS frontline staff.