Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of his Department's guidelines which state that people over the age of 70 are vulnerable to covid-19 with the finding of the World Health Organization which states that people over the age of 60 are clinically vulnerable to covid-19.

The national restrictions guidance published on 31 October recognises that people over 60 could be at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The guidelines recommend that people over 60 follow the same advice as those in the clinically vulnerable category. People aged 70 or over remain in the clinically vulnerable category. Further guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november