Baroness Wheeler Portrait

Baroness Wheeler

Labour - Life peer

Became Member: 20th June 2010

Shadow Spokesperson (Health and Social Care)

(since June 2018)

Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Lords)

(since January 2018)

1 APPG membership (as of 24 Jan 2024)
Stroke
Shadow Spokesperson (Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government)
4th Dec 2021 - 20th Feb 2023
Opposition Senior Whip (Lords)
1st Apr 2014 - 30th Jan 2018
Opposition Whip (Lords)
8th Oct 2010 - 1st Apr 2014
Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Bill [HL]
5th Sep 2011 - 1st Dec 2011


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Baroness Wheeler has voted in 453 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Baroness Wheeler Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Bethell (Conservative)
(71 debate interactions)
Lord Markham (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
(63 debate interactions)
Lord Kamall (Conservative)
(45 debate interactions)
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Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(200 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(14 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Health and Care Act 2022
(18,134 words contributed)
Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021
(10,809 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Baroness Wheeler's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Baroness Wheeler, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Baroness Wheeler has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Baroness Wheeler has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 32 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
23rd May 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Infrastructure and Projects Authority has produced any analysis on their social care reforms; and if so, whether this analysis will be published.

IPA convened an independent assurance review of the Department for Health and Social Care’s (Adult) Social Care Charging Reform Programme in March 2022, as it does at key stages for all programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). It is not standard practice to publish these reviews. IPA has not produced any other analysis on the wider set of social care reforms.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
22nd Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the timetable for distributing the £10m payments to the fishing sector to support those affected by COVID-19, announced on 17 April; and what additional resources will be made available to the Marine Management Organisation to ensure applications for the grants to fishers whose business has suffered severe market disruption are processed in an efficient manner. [T]

This Government shares Baroness Wheeler’s concern that support reaches those most in need in the English fishing and aquaculture sectors as quickly as possible and that is why we are treating the distribution of this funding as a matter of urgency.

The £10 million financial assistance announced on 17 April 2020 will be broken down into two funds, the Fisheries Response Fund (FRF) and the Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme (DSSS), both delivered by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

The FRF, worth £9 million, will contribute to the fixed costs of catching and aquaculture businesses adversely affected by the downturn in export and domestic markets for fish and shellfish.

The MMO has contacted all 1,179 eligible vessel owners; of these, 950 have applied and by 1 May the MMO have made payments totalling £3.6 million to 786 applicants.

The aquaculture portion of the FRF was launched on 6 May.

The Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme will provide £1 million in grants to support seafood businesses to sell their products in their local communities and nationally. This scheme opened on 29 April. And applications close at noon on Monday 11 May.

The MMO has reprioritised resources to ensure efficient and timely delivery of this support and has extended its opening hours to 7pm and Saturdays. This is being kept under review.

27th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how learnings from the two integrated care boards (ICBs) in South London that have taken on full commissioning responsibility for specialised services deemed suitable and ready will be applied to other ICBs ahead of full delegation from 2024–25.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have not yet taken on full delegated commissioning responsibilities in any part of the country. In April 2023, nine joint committees between NHS England and ICBs were established and were given joint commissioning responsibilities for 59 specialised services. This is part of a transitional year during which NHS England and ICBs are jointly taking decisions about the design and delivery of services that are in scope.

As part of the 2023/24 transitional year arrangements, the two South London ICBs and NHS England London regional team have established a pathfinder programme. Learnings from the programme are shared with all other regions and national specialised commissioning leaders so that they can learn in real time as they develop their joint working arrangements ahead of delegation.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
27th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are putting in place to ensure that unwarranted variation in access to specialised services does not increase due to the delegation of some of these services to the integrated care board level.

NHS England remains the accountable commissioner for all prescribed specialised services, including for those services where commissioning responsibility may be delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs). For any services where commissioning responsibility is delegated to ICBs, NHS England will continue to set national standards, service specifications and clinical access policies which ICBs will be expected to apply. NHS England, alongside ICBs, will continue to seek to understand and address unwarranted variation in access to and outcomes from specialised services, making use of all available data sources.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
27th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their timeline for the update of service specifications in specialised services.

NHS England will confirm, by the end of June 2023, the list of national service specifications where work to review the specification has commenced and will be progressing in 2023/24.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
27th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how NHS England and integrated care boards will hold trusts to account on performance in specialised services in line with latest service specifications.

NHS England, together with integrated care boards when a specialised service is commissioned jointly in 2023/24, is responsible for assessing compliance with service specifications.

Actions resulting from non-compliance will vary depending on the reasons for and nature of non-compliance, as well as the location and availability of alternative service provision.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
27th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent NHS England staff were transferred from specialised commissioning to the monkeypox response workstreams.

This information is not held in the format requested. It is not possible to quantify the time spent by the NHS England specialised commissioning team in responding to the mpox outbreak. Staff made various contributions during the course of the outbreak, which varied as the patient numbers increased.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many blister medication packs per year are assembled by pharmacies for patients in England.

Compliance support services, for example the dispensing of medicines in blister medication packs, are not nationally commissioned and therefore no data is available on how many compliance aids are assembled every year in England. Under the Equality Act 2010, pharmacies must make reasonable adjustments to their services to help patients covered by the Act which could include compliance aids where appropriate.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is an adequate supply of essential services provided by pharmacies, particularly the assembly of blister medication packs to support the safe administration of medicines at home by patients, care workers and unpaid carers.

Compliance support services, for example the dispensing of medicines in blister medication packs, are not nationally commissioned and therefore no data is available on how many compliance aids are assembled every year in England. Under the Equality Act 2010, pharmacies must make reasonable adjustments to their services to help patients covered by the Act which could include compliance aids where appropriate.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) reduced pharmacy opening hours, (2) over-capacity pharmacy services, and (3) pharmacists’ staff shortages, on (a) GP, and (b) A&E, services.

No specific assessment has been made. However, the Department closely monitors the market. In England, access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services remains good with a similar number of community pharmacies as a decade ago and 80% of the population living within 20 minutes walking distance of a community pharmacy.

The Pharmacy Access Scheme supports patient access and provision in areas where there are fewer community pharmacies by providing additional funding to those pharmacies. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal committed £2.592 billion per year to the sector and outlined a joint vision for how community pharmacy would become more integrated into the NHS, deliver more clinical services, and become the first port of call for minor illnesses. The Government continues to implement this deal and has invested a further £100 million across 2022/23 and 2023/24 to support community pharmacies.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to build and expand essential community pharmacy services, and (2) to prevent further closures of both large and small high street pharmacies.

No specific assessment has been made. However, the Department closely monitors the market. In England, access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services remains good with a similar number of community pharmacies as a decade ago and 80% of the population living within 20 minutes walking distance of a community pharmacy.

The Pharmacy Access Scheme supports patient access and provision in areas where there are fewer community pharmacies by providing additional funding to those pharmacies. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal committed £2.592 billion per year to the sector and outlined a joint vision for how community pharmacy would become more integrated into the NHS, deliver more clinical services, and become the first port of call for minor illnesses. The Government continues to implement this deal and has invested a further £100 million across 2022/23 and 2023/24 to support community pharmacies.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
21st Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the Company Chemists’ Association that 720 pharmacies had closed permanently since 2015, 41 per cent of which were in England’s most deprived areas; and what steps they are taking to reverse this trend.

No specific assessment has been made. However, the Department closely monitors the market. In England, access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services remains good with a similar number of community pharmacies as a decade ago and 80% of the population living within 20 minutes walking distance of a community pharmacy.

The Pharmacy Access Scheme supports patient access and provision in areas where there are fewer community pharmacies by providing additional funding to those pharmacies. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal committed £2.592 billion per year to the sector and outlined a joint vision for how community pharmacy would become more integrated into the NHS, deliver more clinical services, and become the first port of call for minor illnesses. The Government continues to implement this deal and has invested a further £100 million across 2022/23 and 2023/24 to support community pharmacies.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Feb 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care) on 21 December 2022 (110613), when they will publish their plan for social care system reform; whether the plan will include (1) an evaluation of the burden on local authorities, (2) a consolidation of existing social care initiatives, white papers, and funding streams, and (3) a timetable for delivery; and whether the plan will include strands on (a) the social care workforce, (b) the use of data in social care, (c) the Mental Health Act 1983, (d) Liberty Protection Safeguards, and (e) Building the Right Support proposals.

In spring 2023 the Government will publish a plan for adult social care system reform. This will set out how we will build on the progress so far to implement the vision for adult social care set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper, published in December 2020. The plan will include key milestones for reform, including for workforce, data and technology. The final Local Government Finance Settlement, published on 7 February, sets out the resources available to local authorities in 2023/24, including for adult social care services. We also published the Building the Right Support Action Plan on 14 July 2022 and will confirm next steps for the Liberty Protection Safeguards in due course. The Department will consider the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill’s recommendations carefully and we will introduce the Bill when parliamentary time allows.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Feb 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to bring together the different (1) initiatives, (2) white papers, and (3) funding streams, into a clearer plan for social care reform.

In spring 2023, the Government will publish a plan for adult social care system reform. This will set out how we will build on the progress so far to implement the vision for adult social care set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper, published in December 2020.

The plan will include key milestones for reform, including for workforce, data and technology. The final Local Government Finance Settlement, published on 7 February, sets out the resources available to local authorities in 2023/24, including for adult social care services.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
9th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what public engagement they carried out in 2022 for the NICE Listens programme; what topics NICE Listens will cover in 2023; and whether NICE Listens will include rare diseases in 2023.

The 2022 NICE Listens project is examining the public’s views on action for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the environmental sustainability of healthcare. NICE commissioned a research agency to conduct three online workshops on this topic in autumn 2022 and the project report will be published early in 2023. While the topic for the 2023 NICE Listens project has not yet been selected, NICE’s approach to rare diseases is one of several topics under consideration.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
9th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government why they are yet to add any products to the Innovative Medicines Fund.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for any suitable medicine for inclusion in the Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF). The IMF is a managed access fund, which provides a route for earlier patient access for the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected to inform a long-term commissioning recommendation.

NICE’s independent committee may consider managed access, if a recommendation for routine commissioning cannot be made and where collection of further evidence during a period of managed access will sufficiently support the case for such a recommendation in the future. To date, NICE has not recommended any medicines into the IMF. NICE and NHS England continually monitor for potential products for inclusion in the IMF and NICE provides guidance on whether a managed access proposal would be feasible.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
9th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely number of products that will be eligible for inclusion in the Innovative Medicines Fund in 2022–23 and 2023–24.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for any suitable medicine for inclusion in the Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF). The IMF is a managed access fund, which provides a route for earlier patient access for the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected to inform a long-term commissioning recommendation.

NICE’s independent committee may consider managed access, if a recommendation for routine commissioning cannot be made and where collection of further evidence during a period of managed access will sufficiently support the case for such a recommendation in the future. To date, NICE has not recommended any medicines into the IMF. NICE and NHS England continually monitor for potential products for inclusion in the IMF and NICE provides guidance on whether a managed access proposal would be feasible.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February, whether they will publish a list of services where inequitable access has been identified.

There are no specific plans to do so. NHS England has committed to discuss inequities with all highly specialised services to explore how this can be considered in all provider selection exercises and to record improvements which have been secured following specific interventions.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the case for publishing an externally facing national strategy for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products to support patient access.

No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England is supporting companies to develop cost-effective value propositions Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the rapid introduction of all ATMPs recommended by NICE to date.

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and the UK Strategic Stem Cell Forum have made recommendations to the Government on the adoption of gene therapy and ATMPs to ensure the United Kingdom maintains a global advantage. The Department is considering these recommendations.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February, what progress has been made in testing new approaches to diagnosing individuals with rare diseases.

In England, the NHS Genomic Medicine Service is provided by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs. The Hubs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory, which outlines genomic testing offered by the National Health Service, including tests for 3,200 rare diseases and over 200 cancers. The Test Directory is regularly updated to reflect the latest scientific and technological developments, including new clinical indications for rare disease.

NHS England is developing a proposal for a ‘syndrome without a name’ pilot, which aims to reduce the time to diagnosis for patients with undiagnosed rare diseases. Genomics England and the NHS will deliver a study to explore the effectiveness of using whole genome sequencing to find and treat rare genetic diseases in newborn babies. Genomics England has engaged with parents, the public, people with lived experience of rare disease, researchers and healthcare professionals on the practical, ethical and societal issues raised by the study and how it can be delivered. The study will commence in 2023 and will sequence the genomes of 100,000 babies and will gather evidence to consider whether this technology could be deployed in England in the future.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to hold delivery partners, including NHS England, to account on the remaining incomplete actions in the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February.

All delivery partners, including NHS England, report on progress at regular meetings of the England Rare Diseases Framework Delivery Group, which provides oversight and coordination for the delivery of England’s Action Plan. Progress reports are made available to stakeholders through the UK Rare Diseases Forum.

The next England Rare Diseases Action Plan is due to be published in early 2023 and will include a summary of progress to date against actions in the 2022 Action Plan and updated metrics and milestones for actions which are ongoing. The England Rare Diseases Framework Delivery Group will continue to meet regularly to monitor and report on progress against these ongoing actions.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February, when the strategic approach on Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products will be published; and what engagement is being carried out as part of its development.

NHS England is continuing to develop its strategic approach on Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), informed by engagement with patients, providers and the pharmaceutical industry. This is focused on the commissioning and implementation of ATMPs, including service readiness, redesign, investment and provider selection. While no formal publication is currently planned, progress will be reported in England’s Rare Diseases Action Plans.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February, what is the breakdown of the scope of the NHS’ annual report on the uptake of drugs for patients with rare diseases; and when it will be published.

NHS England will provide an annual report on the uptake of drugs recommended in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s highly specialised technology programme for patients with rare diseases by the end of 2022/23. This will include data comparing the actual patients receiving a drug with expected numbers. Where the number of patients is sufficiently high for statistical analysis, this will be reviewed to determine whether uptake has been geographically equitable.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
17th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish further (1) details of, and (2) timescales for, the allocation of the £375 million additional research funding into neurodegenerative disease; and whether this grant will include research into (a) Multiple System Atrophy, and (b) Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

This investment will fund research projects into a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Multiple System Atrophy and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. The Government will provide this funding through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The NIHR and UKRI rely on researchers submitting high-quality applications to access funding, therefore details of allocations and timescales are not currently available. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

6th Sep 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the impact assessment for The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 will be submitted to the Regulatory Policy Committee; and when they expect to publish this assessment.

The impact assessment for The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 has been submitted to the Regulatory Policy Committee and is currently undergoing independent scrutiny.

5th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to issue new guidance on friends and relatives visiting care home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what steps they are taking to enable such visits to take place safely.

The Department’s COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care outlines the importance of restricting visitors to care homes at this time to reduce the risk of infection for care home residents and staff. A copy of COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care is attached.

It is recognised that this restriction in visitors may cause anxiety for both residents and their relatives. Existing guidance encourages that alternatives to in-person visiting are explored such as telephones or video calling. It is important that relatives can visit their loved one if they are dying, or if the relatives’ bereavement is likely to be worse, with a higher risk of psychological and physical morbidity. The Adult Social Care Action Plan acknowledges this exception.

5th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefit of redeploying NHS nurses and doctors to care homes, and what representations they have received from the National Care Forum and other care organisations about any such redeployment.

We are very grateful for the many health professionals who are supporting the local health and care system during the pandemic, including National Health Service support to enable nurse returners to be deployed to care homes through the Bringing Back Staff programme.

In April, we published COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care setting out the measures that the Government and other parts of the system are taking to support adult social care, to ensure people in care homes and other settings continue to receive the care they need. We are increasing funding and support to care homes to reduce the spread of infection and support workforce resilience, working with local authorities and health. We continue to work closely with our senior leaders’ group which includes the National Care Forum, who advise the Government on the measures we are taking to maximise workforce supply and capacity. A copy of COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care is attached.

5th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of reduced care packages, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, for disabled and elderly people living in the community on the health and mental wellbeing being of (1) the service users and (2) their carers.

We continue to provide guidance, funding, and support to individuals and groups affected by local service disruption. This includes an ethical framework to support local prioritisation decisions, guidance for unpaid carers, and guidance for the public on the mental health and wellbeing aspects of COVID-19. We are also working with national learning disability and autism charities to identify how, with Government funding, they can boost their online and helpline capacity to support people with learning disabilities, autistic people and those with the most complex needs.

The Department is also working with the Care Quality Commission and Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) to understand the impact on individuals, including disabled people and their carers, of the changes to Care Act 2014 duties. TLAP hopes to speak to local authorities which are operating under easements to understand what this means for adults with care and support needs. A TLAP Insight Group will be meeting regularly to coordinate intelligence of TLAP partners on the impact and views of people accessing care and support and unpaid carers.

5th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the temporary closure, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, of day care facilities for people with disabilities has had on the health and mental wellbeing of (1) the service users and (2) their carers.

We continue to provide guidance, funding, and support to individuals and groups affected by local service disruption. This includes an ethical framework to support local prioritisation decisions, guidance for unpaid carers, and guidance for the public on the mental health and wellbeing aspects of COVID-19. We are also working with national learning disability and autism charities to identify how, with Government funding, they can boost their online and helpline capacity to support people with learning disabilities, autistic people and those with the most complex needs.

The Department is also working with the Care Quality Commission and Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) to understand the impact on individuals, including disabled people and their carers, of the changes to Care Act 2014 duties. TLAP hopes to speak to local authorities which are operating under easements to understand what this means for adults with care and support needs. A TLAP Insight Group will be meeting regularly to coordinate intelligence of TLAP partners on the impact and views of people accessing care and support and unpaid carers.

5th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the welfare of children and vulnerable adults whose care and support has been reduced under the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Monitoring the welfare of children is a matter for the Department for Education.

The Department is working with the Care Quality Commission and Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) to understand the impact of the Care Act 2014 easements introduced by the Coronavirus Act 2020, which allow local authorities to prioritise care and support so that the most urgent and acute needs are met. TLAP hopes to speak to local authorities which are operating under easements to understand what this means for adults with care and support needs. A TLAP Insight Group will be meeting regularly to coordinate intelligence of TLAP partners on the impact and views of people with lived experience.

5th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many local authorities have used the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 to suspend or reduce (1) care assessments, (2) carer assessments, (3) financial assessments and (4) care reviews.

As of 6 May, seven local authorities have used the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Under the guidance for local authorities, there is no requirement to notify the Department about the details of the use of this provision. Recording by local authorities remains a priority and will help them to ensure accountability and provide evidence for the thought processes behind the decisions they will be making.