Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing priority access to personal protective equipment for use in almshouses to ensure the wellbeing of vulnerable people in those settings during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises that securing the right personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers is of paramount importance, not only for their protection, but to enable them to continue to deliver the first-class level of care that is amongst the best in the world. Where we were in an emergency situation at the start of the pandemic, we have now moved to a stable position, and this month will have a four month stockpile of all COVID-critical PPE in place, with a tremendous contribution from United Kingdom manufacturers.

Amid unprecedented global pressures on supply chains, over 4.6 billion items of PPE have been delivered to frontline workers. This includes over 245 million items of PPE authorised for release to designated wholesalers for onward sale to adult social care providers, as well as over 203 million items to Local Resilience Forums and 21.5 million items to local authorities.

Guidance for commissioners and providers of accommodation services for vulnerable people is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-services-for-people-experiencing-rough-sleeping/covid-19-guidance-for-commissioners-and-providers-of-hostel-services-for-people-experiencing-homelessness-and-rough-sleeping