Hearing Impairment: Coronavirus

(asked on 23rd September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s press release of 5 September 2020 entitled Government delivers 250,000 clear face masks to support people with hearing loss, what plans he has to review the initial provision of clear masks; and what his timescale is for decisions on future supply of those masks.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 9th October 2020

Clear face masks are currently being piloted and we are seeking feedback to help understand demand. This exercise will conclude soon. We will use the findings to inform our future procurement, but we already know that clear face masks are making a difference to the treatment of many individuals with hearing loss and other conditions.

It is critical that the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) meets equalities duties. As part of our efforts to collate PPE requirement data from across Government, departments have been asked to provide information on how potential inequalities have been considered; the demographics of both their workforce and the public their workforce face which has proved significant in the use of PPE; and incompatibilities or difficulties observed between any of the PPE used by their workforce. This will ensure the demand model reflects the different combination and size of equipment required to meet different user needs.

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