Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bethell on 14 September (HL Deb, col 1007) that they "are looking at making up to half of our personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements in the UK", why they do not plan to manufacture more than half of PPE in the UK; and what plans they have to increase the amount of PPE requirements manufactured in the UK to more than half.

The Government has been working to build a resilient, diversified supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE). We have therefore massively expanded both our supply of PPE from overseas and our domestic manufacturing capability. This has helped to build resilience for our supply of PPE into the future.

The proportion of United Kingdom-based PPE manufacturing is rising all the time and we are increasingly confident of achieving more than 50% for most lines this year.

The Government is hugely grateful to all the UK-based manufacturers that came forward during a time of unprecedented global supply chain demand. This has ensured we build and maintain a domestic base for the future.