Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether social care staff providing support to individuals in their own homes are required to be vaccinated against covid-19.

Regulations to extend vaccination as a condition of deployment beyond residential care settings to any other Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated activity in health and social care, subject to certain exemptions and conditions will come into force on 1 April 2022. The regulations require CQC-registered providers to ensure that anyone they deploy in the provision of this activity, who will have face to face contact with service users, has provided evidence of vaccination or exemption. This applies to home or domiciliary care services, supported living and extra care housing as well as other regulated activities. It does not apply where care is provided under a Shared Lives agreement. Activities which are not CQC-regulated, such as care provided by personal assistants, are not within the scope of the regulations.