Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 35 of the policy paper, Building Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care, published in September 2021, which organisations in the social care sector the Government has consulted in the production of its adult social care white paper; and whether the Government plans to hold further consultations.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We will be publishing a white paper later this year with further details on our plans for reform. Engagement with the social care sector, those with lived experience and other key stakeholders is ongoing.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care whether,with reference to the Government’s consultation entitled making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector, launched 9 September 2021, whether he plans to extend the requirement of flu vaccinations to the groups for whom a covid-19 vaccination will be required to enter a CQC registered care home under The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
‘Making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector’ consultation is currently open and seeks views on proposals where Care Quality Commission-regulated health and care settings can only deploy staff who were fully vaccinated. The consultation also explores whether flu vaccination should be a condition of deployment in health and social care settings to protect those who are at a higher risk of flu.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publications entitled, ‘Building Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care, Command Paper 506, what comparative assessment he has made of how the (a) cap on care costs, and (b) increase in asset thresholds for those who pay for social care will differ between pensioners and working age adults.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The cap on care costs and increase in the capital limits will benefit all those who access adult social care, as the reform changes will be universal. We will be publishing an equalities impact assessment in due course.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the New Resource DEL spending, published on page 30 of Command Paper 506, Building Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care, if he will provide a breakdown of that spending by (a) health and (b) social care, per year.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The forthcoming Spending Review will set out the Government’s spending plans for health and social care for future years.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 35 of Command Paper 506: Building Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care, what the Government's timetable is for publishing the White Paper on adult social care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will work with care users, providers and other partners to co-develop these plans and publish further detail in a white paper for reform later this year.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 36 of the policy paper, Building Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care, published in September 2021, how that funding will be allocated between the objectives noted in paragraph 37 on (a) introducing a cap on personal care costs, (b) providing financial assistance to those without substantial assets, (c) delivering wider support for the social care system and (d) improving the integration of health and social care systems.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will set out more detail on our plans for reform of adult social care in a white paper later this year.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis is for the decision to change the NHS Covid App’s operational rules to reduce the time period to notify contacts from within five days to within two days of asymptomatic cases testing positive; and what estimate he has been made of the scale of the consequential reduction in notifications from that change.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For people who tested positive for COVID-19 but did not have symptoms, it is difficult to know when the period of infectiousness started. Someone without symptoms may have been tested at any point between the start and end of their period of infectiousness. Advice from Public Health England, taking into account operational, clinical and other factors, is that the highest risk period for contacts is most likely to be two days from the test date, this is in line with standard contact tracing practice. The NHS COVID-19 app has therefore been updated to look back two days from the positive test date for contacts of cases who had no symptoms. This change strikes a balance between protecting public health and reducing potential social and economic disruption. The anonymous nature of the app means it is not possible to robustly calculate what impact this change will have, however we are confident this will significantly reduce the number of low-risk contacts being advised to self-isolate.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the prospect of reaching herd immunity against covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England has not made an estimate of when herd immunity to COVID-19 will be reached in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria he plans to use to determine (a) whether to implement a booster covid-19 vaccination programme in autumn 2021 and (b) which population groups that programme should cover.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30th June 2021 which can be found at the following link:
The JCVI’s interim advice is that COVID-19 boosters should first be offered to the most vulnerable. The JCVI advises a two-staged approach, with individuals in Stage 1 offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine as well as a flu vaccine, as soon as possible from September 2021 and individuals in Stage 2 offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine as soon as practicable after Stage 1, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible.
It is important to note that this is interim advice to inform planning and this advice may be subject to change before being finalised. Final decisions on the timing and scope and cohort eligibility, including the groups listed above, of any COVID-19 vaccine booster programme will be confirmed once the JCVI have provided their final advice, alongside considerations related to COVID-19 vaccine supply.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Question 27052 tabled by the Rt hon. Member for Forest Dean on 5 July 2021, for what reason it has not been possible to provide an Answer by the named day of 8 July 2021; and by which date he plans to provide a substantive Answer to that Question.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer of 22 July to Question 27052.