Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, raised the PPE donations made by local constituents in Parliament, during business questions to the Leader of the House, Jacob Rees Mogg.
Neil cited the contribution of three constituents, Aaron Shrive, Chris Lee and Thomas Barwick who have produced and donated thousands of plastic face visors between them. Volunteers are now facing expensive accreditation costs which could cost around £1200, though efforts are underway to see what can be done to remove this cost burden.
Neil said, “I’d like to pay tribute to these three constituents who have literally been working around the clock to produce these face visors, by setting alarms throughout the night to reset their production.
We know there has been a global shortage of PPE, so their efforts have been incredibly helpful and appreciated by thousands of local people. Of course, we need to adhere to strict standards to ensure their safety, but we need to help volunteers with the expensive costs of getting accredited.
I’m pleased the Government has convened a group to look to look at some form of pre-approved design, which would remove the need for separate and expensive checks. It’s something I will continue to pay close attention to and press for, to ensure volunteers are helped by the system, not prohibited from doing what is an incredibly helpful thing.”