Department of Health and Social Care: Supply Chains

(asked on 29th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure supply chain resilience for that Department.


Answered by
Michael Ellis Portrait
Michael Ellis
This question was answered on 2nd December 2021

The resilience of our Supply Chains is a key priority for the Government. We have already put in place a raft of measures to deal with the extraordinary set of circumstances brought on by the pandemic and the global economy rebounding.

These include:

  • increasing HGV testing capacity by 90% to help get new drivers into the sector quickly;

  • extending cabotage rights;

  • making available bootcamp places to train up to 5,000 HGV drivers, and

  • making available temporary visas for poultry workers and butchers.

In October, the Prime Minister appointed Sir Dave Lewis to advise HM Government on supply chains and to identify both immediate improvements and any necessary long-term changes. He has spoken with over 100 businesses from across 14 sectors since his appointment. In order that we can continue to monitor supply chain risks and coordinate work across government, we have also established a new Supply Chains Unit within the Cabinet Office.

Reticulating Splines