Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 117280, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the ability of podiatrists to provide their services to patients.

On 23 December 2020, NHS England wrote to the National Health Service outlining the operational priorities for this winter and 2021/22. This asked for systems to maximise their capacity to treat non-COVID-19 patients, including the delivery of podiatry services. The letter is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/important-operational-priorities-for-winter-and-2021-22/