Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to make personal protective equipment available to private companies during the covid-19 outbreak.

Manufacturers have reported constraints on supply of new stocks of personal protective equipment and some clinical consumables due to an increase in global demand and the impact of COVID-19 on supply. The Government is constantly monitoring this and working to secure additional stocks to further enhance our preparedness. We have central stockpiles of a range of products and we are prioritising sectors which have a clinical need to receive these supplies.