Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the security of supply for chemicals such as methacrylates, ethylene, propylene and acrylonitrile required for vaccine production, personal protective equipment, and medical-grade materials in the light of supply chain disruption caused by the Iran conflict.

The Department is closely monitoring the Middle East conflict to assess any potential impact on United Kingdom medical supply chains. This includes ongoing discussion with industry partners about potential impacts on necessary raw materials and finished products used in healthcare.

We maintain well‑established contingency arrangements to manage supply disruptions where these occur. These can include coordination of mutual aid, work to identify alternative products, alternative clinical practices, regulatory easements, and/or use of the Express Freight Service which can provide bespoke global logistics services in the event of critical supply disruption.

We will continue to engage industry and health system partners to identify and mitigate any potential impact on patient care.