Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who leads the enhanced protection programme; and what the process is for designating charities and patient organisations as stakeholders for that programme.

The Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dame Jenny Harries, is the Senior Responsible Owner for the COVID-19 enhanced protection programme (EPP). The EPP is a tripartite scheme run by the Department, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency.

Ministers and officials regularly engage with charities and organisations representing those who are immunocompromised and immunosuppressed. There is no formal process for designating patient organisations as stakeholders for the programme.