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 identify people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) severe mental illness who are in each of the current priority groups for covid-19 vaccines.

On 24 February the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published a clarification of their advice on vaccinating people with a learning disability. They confirmed their view that priority should be given to those with a severe and profound learning disability, but recognised concerns about coding of Learning Disability on general practitioner (GP) systems and supported a practical approach of inviting everyone who is on the GP Learning Disability Register for vaccination in cohort 6.

The JCVI also supports an approach for the National Health Service to work with local authorities to identify adults with learning disability in residential and nursing care, and those who require support, for example as part of assisted living in the community, and those in shared accommodation with multiple occupancy.

The NHS can identify adults who have severe mental illnesses, including individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or any mental illness that causes severe functional impairment, who are eligible for vaccination in cohort 6 through GP records.

Local systems are best placed to reach out to our diverse communities and avoid inequalities in access, and every system should have a plan for full coverage for health inclusion groups. Regional teams working with local systems have identified local health inclusion groups that will require access to the vaccine, within eligible patient cohorts. Locally commissioned arrangements to reach these groups may include local NHS Community & Mental Health Trust providers, primary care networks, or partnership activity with statutory and voluntary services.