around Covid and PPE.
Exclusive: Government U-turns on claim that '70 per cent' of England's PPE is made in the UK - CityAM : CityAM
The government has made an apparent U-turn on claims that 70 per cent of England’s personal protective equipment (PPE) supply is made in the UK, following an admission that it does not hold any official figures on where PPE is manufactured, City A.M. can reveal.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) in September set out a strategy to boost UK-based supply of PPE and wean Britain off its reliance on Asian products.
It set out plans for “UK-based supply… to meet 70 per cent of forecasted demand in England in December for all categories of PPE excluding gloves” — up from 1 per cent at the start of the pandemic.
The department confirmed that “UK-based supply” meant PPE manufactured in the UK, rather than British-based procurement from overseas.
DHSC praised the “extraordinary leap” as representative of UK industry’s “can do attitude” to the coronavirus crisis.
Speaking in the Commons last week, health and social care minister Jo Churchill declared that the government had achieved its target.
“We have a four-month stockpile of all Covid-critical PPE in place,” she said. “Thanks must go to the tremendous contribution from UK manufacturers, which now meet 70 per cent of our PPE needs.”
Exclusive: Government U-turns on claim that '70 per cent' of England's PPE is made in the UK - CityAM : CityAM
The government has made an apparent U-turn on claims that 70 per cent of England’s personal protective equipment (PPE) supply is made in the UK, following an admission that it does not hold any official figures on where PPE is manufactured, City A.M. can reveal.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) in September set out a strategy to boost UK-based supply of PPE and wean Britain off its reliance on Asian products.
It set out plans for “UK-based supply… to meet 70 per cent of forecasted demand in England in December for all categories of PPE excluding gloves” — up from 1 per cent at the start of the pandemic.
The department confirmed that “UK-based supply” meant PPE manufactured in the UK, rather than British-based procurement from overseas.
DHSC praised the “extraordinary leap” as representative of UK industry’s “can do attitude” to the coronavirus crisis.
Speaking in the Commons last week, health and social care minister Jo Churchill declared that the government had achieved its target.
“We have a four-month stockpile of all Covid-critical PPE in place,” she said. “Thanks must go to the tremendous contribution from UK manufacturers, which now meet 70 per cent of our PPE needs.”
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