MIKE HILL: Why has government consistently failed to provide personal protective equipment for NHS and care workers

Don’t get me wrong Parliament is up and running following the recess but only on a virtual basis, with the vast majority of MPs undertaking their duties via video link. It’s a bizarre situation but it’s important that our democratic structures continue in this time of crisis and that the Government are held accountable for the actions they take and answer important questions to which the public want answers.Naturally, my inbox continues to be dominated by queries around Coronavirus, as is the case with the Council, the Citizens Advice Bureau and other organisations out there who people are turning to for support and assistance on all kinds of issues. The range of queries are wide, varied and numerous and with many people working from home, like my team, it really is a challenge to deal with matters swiftly, efficiently and effectively but we are doing that to the best of our ability and trying to maintain as normal a service as possible.Tonight at 8pm the people of Hartlepool will once again stand outside their front doors and clap or bang their pots and pans in appreciation of our NHS, hospice and care sector workers; they are the people in the front line, in the danger zone. They are dealing directly with the sick and the dying. They are putting themselves at risk day in and day out to comfort and treat others. They are working selflessly on our hospital wards; as emergency first responders like paramedics and ambulance crews; in our care homes and care settings; as mental health crisis teams and in our homes like home carers and Macmillan nurses. These people and many, many others deserve our respect and that is why they not only deserve our applause, but they deserve the right levels of protection as well.When the dust settles and this vicious virus has gone away there will be plenty of time to question the Government’s response to COVID-19, but there’s a major question that I’m going to be asking in the new virtual Parliament:When we knowingly let our PPE stockpiles dwindle after the 2016 Pandemic Emergency Planning warnings; when we exported PPE to China in January; when we failed 3 times to even bother with the EU PPE procurement process; when businesses, schools, colleges and universities were largely ignored when they offered to produce PPE and when, earlier this week, an essential shipment from Turkey was delayed putting hospital stocks at further risk; why has this Government consistently failed to provide personal protective equipment for those same NHS and care workers we will be applauding tonight?Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.