Health secretary Matt Hancock has promised to increase supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to social care.

Announcing a social care action plan to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Hancock announced a new online delivery system for social care settings and said kit would be shipped directly to social care providers.

Care providers have repeatedly reported difficulties in accessing PPE stock from their normal suppliers.

Chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, said: ‘The current arrangements for accessing PPE by councils and care providers are not fit for purpose and are failing to provide what is needed on the frontline.

'It is vital that the arrangements set out in the plan are urgently translated to reality on the ground.’

The action plan read: ‘We are working around the clock to ensure we are buying and making more PPE to see us through this pandemic.

'We have set up a new unit to identify and buy PPE supplies from across the globe, as well as encouraging UK manufacturers to produce PPE in a national call to action.’

The action plan also revealed a government ambition to attract 20,000 people into social care over the next three months.

More than 3,000 workers have already been referred to local testing centres and there is now capacity available for every social care worker who needs a test to have one, according to the Government.

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