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 HM Treasury to ensure supply chain resilience for that Department.
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.