Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether funding will be made available from the public purse to provide free flu vaccinations for staff working in independent care services for the winter of 2018-19.

NHS England will continue to make funding available in 2018/19 to support the vaccination of social care workers that offer direct patient/client care. This will supplement any established occupational health schemes that employers have in place to offer the flu vaccination to their workforce. In addition, funding will be extended to include health and care staff in the voluntary managed hospice sector that offer direct patient/client care.

NHS England will be writing to organisations representing the independent and voluntary care sector shortly to confirm the details of the scheme for 2018/19.