Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of sovereign cold chain partners on the safe (a) storage and (b) delivery of vaccines in healthcare emergencies.

The UK Health Security Agency has appointed, through a Commercial and Quality Technical Agreement, a third party to provide storage and distribution of vaccines in the event of healthcare emergencies. The United Kingdom-based provider must adhere to the relevant regulatory compliance to ensure this service is safe and ready to be utilised.