Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the personal protective equipment they have procured during the COVID-19 pandemic has been manufactured by UK businesses.

COVID-19 has created a significant personal protective equipment (PPE) supply issue and global markets have faced a significant surge in demand which has resulted in vast increases in the cost of PPE, demonstrating the market's response to increased competition. In response, we are working to improve domestic manufacturing capability.

Lord Deighton is leading the Government effort by British industry to manufacture PPE. The Government is currently in contact with over 350 potential United Kingdom manufacturers and efforts by small companies are being scaled up. We have already taken delivery of products from new, certified UK manufacturers. More new manufacturers of PPE are expected to commit to producing PPE in the coming weeks, with 25 opportunist companies in final commercial discussions.

We are building up UK manufacturing with signed contracts to manufacture over two billion items of PPE through UK-based manufacturers, including facemasks, visors, gowns and aprons. This includes Survitec, a survival technology company, will begin producing gowns as soon as the beginning of June; Bolle, who manufacture protective eyewear, will make 6.5 million visors over the course of the pandemic; Jaguar Land Rover is now manufacturing 14,000 visors a week for healthcare staff; Don & Low will be manufacturing 12 million metres squared of fabric for gowns over the next six months, with the first delivery expected later this month; and Burberry is manufacturing non-surgical gowns at its factory in Castleford and sourcing masks through its supply chain. To date, the company has donated over 100,000 pieces of PPE to the National Health Service and healthcare charities.