Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to prevent companies profiteering from the supply of personal protective equipment during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government has set up a personal protective equipment (PPE) sourcing unit to secure new supply lines from across the world and published rigorous standards against which we will buy. Maximising the central purchasing and supply of PPE should prevent trusts needing to buy directly and so reduce the levels of profiteering.

Although the vast majority of firms are acting responsibly, the Competition and Markets Authority has written to the small number of firms suspected of exploiting the current COVID-19 situation for financial gain, and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy met business and consumer representatives to discuss what further action might be necessary to address the issue. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will continue to review the options open for tackling profiteering.