Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help maintain a resilient supply chain for personal protective equipment.

Responsibility for the supply and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) on a day-to-day basis lies with NHS Supply Chain. The Department, NHS Supply Chain and NHS England continue to work collaboratively to deliver procurement and supply chain excellence for PPE that meets customer and patient needs, and to drive value for money for taxpayers.

The Department actively monitors and mitigates supply threats and disruptions to help ensure continuity of supply of medical products, and the Department has experience of this through EU Exit, COVID-19 and other supply disruptions.