Petition · past parliament
Compel arms manufacturers to switch production to medical equipment.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
During WW2 many manufacturers were required to switch production to armaments in order to assist the war effort. We need a similarly urgent and rapid response to the Coronavirus crisis in order to save lives. We don’t need any more fighter jets right now, we do urgently need ventilators!
The crisis is too severe to wait for manufacturers to voluntarily rise to the challenge. Compulsion is needed with the utmost urgency to save lives. If hospitals don’t have enough of the right equipment people will be left to die, as they have been in some other countries. Arms manufacturers in particular have the engineering skills and the appropriate machinery, such as CNC machines, to enable them to switch production very quickly.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: Provide adequate PPE equipment for medical professionals working with COVID-19
Advice on the use of personal protective equipment is a matter for Public Health England, not the Government or Parliament.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coranavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Advice on the use of personal protective equipment is a matter for Public Health England, not the Government or Parliament.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coranavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Timeline
| 18 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 31 Mar 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
31 Mar 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.