Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the speed of NHS procurement of personal protective equipment; and if he will make a statement.

Lord Deighton, formerly Chief Executive of London 2012 Olympics, has been appointed to lead on our domestic efforts to increase the supply of PPE. Contracts have been signed for over 3 billion items of PPE through UK-based manufacturers, including facemasks, visors, gowns and aprons, ensuring we build and maintain a domestic base for the future.

We are identifying personal protective equipment (PPE) suppliers from across the globe to meet the increasing demand for a growing list of PPE products. As part of this effort, we have seconded expert procurement professionals from NHS Supply Chain to work with military planners and a cross-Government team from the Government Commercial Function.

Additionally, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) teams across the world have ensured local sources are able to deliver the products required, as well as working with the central teams to secure inbound logistics and freight operations at speed. The Department for Trade has also stood up a global network to coordinate the PPE sourcing augmenting the FCO's work so that faster fulfilment can be delivered.