Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that covid-19 isolation requirements for residents of care homes are in line with national guidelines.

From 31 January 2022, we reduced the isolation period for care home residents from 14 days to 10 days. Isolation periods for care homes residents can be reduced further through regular testing. While most care recipients in adult social care are vaccinated, care home residents are still at a greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 relative to the general population, and the transmission risk remains high in vulnerable settings due to the kind of close contact care individuals receive.

The Department will review the remaining measures in place in adult social care settings over the coming weeks and will publish updated Infection Prevention Control guidance by 1 April to set out the next phase of the response in adult social care.