To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the ending of the temporary VAT reduction on personal protective equipment on funeral director companies.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of which sectors of the economy have been most affected by increases in the cost of personal protective equipment since the ending of the temporary VAT exemption on that equipment on 31 October 2020.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to support funeral director companies to access Government stocks of personal protective equipment after the end of the temporary VAT reduction on those items.

The temporary zero rate was an extraordinary measure introduced to help affected sectors (such as hospitals and care homes) during the initial shock of the COVID-19 crisis, when global supply of PPE did not meet demand and PPE was procured directly from the open market.

DHSC have now committed in the Winter Plan to provide free PPE for COVID-19 needs to adult social care until March 2021 via the PPE portal and will supply all other adult social care services that will not be supplied via the PPE portal via a combination of the local resilience forums and local authorities.

The funeral sector source their own PPE through their normal supply routes. In extreme circumstances, there is provision for them to approach their local resilience forum or local authority to discuss access to an emergency supply.