I very much dislike this Tory Gov but I have to keep pointing out that Welsh Lab Gov and SNP Gov and Sinn Fein/DUP Gov have followed the exact same science and the exact same strategy.
All attend COBR.

Re PPE

Some bits that have come out of interviews here that will surely apply to England too.

Usual global suppliers have cancelled orders without notice
They have only filled partial orders or sent wrong things
Some suppliers have demanded lot more money before sending

1/

Some suppliers have demanded millions but not wanted them to inspect the PPE.
Some have gone public to raise pressure but their PPE doesn’t meet the safety standards.
Some countries have refused to let PPE shipments leave because they need it.
It’s described as the Wild West.

Only one place in the whole of the UK can supply the fluid resistant fabric that we need to make our own PPE and it will take them 4/5 weeks to get up to full production.
We all had ‘adequate’ pandemic stocks but resupplying that stock is proving very difficult and patchy.

England’s issues are made worse by the fact each NHS trust is responsible for their own and they are competing with each other.