Covid-19 Update

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Thursday 17th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Making sure that test kits get returned rapidly is incredibly important, including in social care. I am glad to say that the backlog has come down over the past week. At its core, our response to the problems in social care, because so many people who live in care homes are older and therefore vulnerable, is to protect the amount of test kits. The weekly testing of staff and the monthly testing of residents has been delivered and is being protected, even despite all the other pressures on testing capacity.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for all the work he is doing in clearly challenging circumstances. My constituency, which is part of Solihull Borough, is under enhanced restrictions at the moment, restricting household-to-household mixing. That is absolutely the right thing to do. However, will my right hon. Friend give consideration to allowing informal childcare arrangements? Many parents who cannot afford to pay for childcare would welcome the opportunity to go to work within the guidelines and also have childcare in place.

[Matt Hancock]

That is an important question. It is a very difficult balance, because often informal childcare is grandparents looking after children and older people are, of course, the most vulnerable to the disease. That is the balance that we need to strike. I always keep an open mind and I am very happy to talk to my hon. Friend about getting the balance exactly right in his area.