Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government whether the Government has plans to classify haberdasheries as essential businesses in order to provide supplies to volunteers producing personal protective equipment.

Haberdasheries have been asked to close along with many other retail premises to minimise the risk of the spread of the coronavirus. It is positive to see a public desire to volunteer to help in the response to the virus and it is vital that all frontline staff get the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need.

At all times we have been consistently guided by scientific advice to protect lives. The current advice from SAGE is that relaxing business closures measures too quickly could risk damage to public health, our economy, and the sacrifices we have all made. The government has set up five tests that must be met before the lockdown measures (including the closure of certain retail businesses) can be lifted. These consider NHS capacity, death rates, transmission rates, availability of PPE, and avoidance of a second peak of the virus.

In the meantime, online retail is still open and encouraged and postal and delivery service will continue to run. This could enable the activities of haberdasheries to continue.