Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the extent of long-term health problems experienced by socially- isolated children during covid-19 lockdown.

Health visitors are ideally placed to identify and provide early intervention support to children aged 0 to five years old who experience long-term health problems through social isolation. School nurses, in partnership with other health and education professionals, can help identify and support children aged five to 19 years old with long-term conditions or complex needs arising from social isolation. As a first point of contact, general practitioners (GPs) have a crucial role to play in identifying long-term conditions when children attend GP appointments.