High Peak MP quizzes Government over health worker and food supplies

The MP’s comments came after he pushed the Government for guarantees back-up plans were in place if large numbers of hauliers fell ill with Covid-19 during a Transport Select Committee hearing.

Speaking to the Advertiser after the committee he told how High Peak would be one of the first areas affected if supply chains failed nationally due to its remoteness.

He added: “It’s harder to get to us than a lot of other places - I wanted to make sure the Government knows how serious it is and that they have contingencies plans in place to maintain supplies.

“If we cannot get PPE to health workers or food to stores that’s serious.”

During the Whitehall meeting he asked roads minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton how confident she was that supply chains ‘will continue to function properly’.

He told the minister: “Obviously keeping supply chains operating is essential for us to get food to supermarkets and to get PPE out to key workers and NHS staff.

“I want to ask the minister how confident are you that supply chains will continue to function properly and what contingencies is the department looking at if staff levels in the supply chains fall below a critical level due to illness?”

Baroness Vere told Robert the amount of staff sickness within the haulage sector was ‘relatively low compared with other sectors’.

She added: “Because the amount of volume being moved has decreased quite significantly there is spare capacity within the sector - both from a vehicle perspective and from a qualified driver perspective - which can be used to support the resilience of the supply chain as a whole.”

Robert told the Advertiser: “It was encouraging that the Government has contingencies in place - that the numbers of sickness in freight and haulage is quite low and that there is spare capacity.”

Speaking about the High Peak Robert said the community was coping ‘incredibly well’.

He said: “Everyone the best they can during a very difficult time and we’ll get through this.”

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