Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many businesses based in Luton South have (a) made offers to his Department to manufacture Personal Protective Equipment and (b) received orders from his Department to manufacture that equipment.

The Department does not hold the information in the format requested, identifiable to a specific location.

Lord Deighton is leading the Government’s efforts to secure sufficient PPE and ensure this gets to where it is needed. He is also driving forward coordination of the end-to-end process design and manufacture of new domestic PPE supplies. The Department has entered into contract and placed orders with several manufacturers to provide millions of items of PPE products to the National Health Service and carers. Details of this work can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-more-items-of-ppe-for-frontline-staff-from-new-business-partnerships
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/70-million-face-masks-for-nhs-and-care-workers-through-new-industry-deal

The volumes will increase in the coming weeks.