Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes they have made to their (1) policies, and (2) practice, relating to (a) sourcing personal protective equipment, and (b) the methodology used to assess need and stockpile reserves of such equipment, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have significantly strengthened and diversified our supply chains for personal protective equipment (PPE) – looking to new suppliers abroad as well as boosting our domestic manufacturing capability. This has helped to build resilience into the future.

Thanks to the unprecedented domestic production of PPE, for items such gowns and FFP3 facemasks, by December, supply of PPE through United Kingdom manufacturers will provide 70% of the amount we expect to use from December to March, for all items except gloves. Before the pandemic, just 1% of PPE was produced in the UK.