Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy for staff in care home settings to wear medical grade personal protective equipment of the standard required in the NHS.

The United Kingdom-wide Infection, Prevention, Control guidance for the National Health Service and for care home settings recommends the same standard of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the NHS and in care homes. The Government provides free medical grade PPE to the health and social care sector for COVID-19 needs in line with this guidance.

The Government committed to the provision of free medical grade PPE for the COVID-19 needs of the adult social care sector until March 2021. The scheme has now been extended until June 2021.