"Supermarkets could not have been expected to plan ahead for this sudden increase in demand for home deliveries. Hopefully things should settle down a bit once people have got their stockpile in."

The private sector, particularly the corporations that make billions out of retail have an equal responsibility to individuals and the government. They have the financial means of rapid response if they are prepared to take a dent in their profits/wealth.

The reality is that people who are isolated are effectively being advised not to eat if they don't have social/family networks they can depend on or their networks are also being advised to self isolate.

Sure local authorities can put resources into supporting the infrastructure, but are you personally prepared to make the decision about which individuals should forfeit their social care, or which at risk children should forfeit their protection to pay for this?@ It may have escaped your attention but local authorities have been forced to make sweeping cuts to their budgets over the last 10 years.