Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a dedicated helpline for the elderly in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

The Secretary of State and the Northern Ireland health minister Robin Swann agreed to replace the Northern Ireland dedicated helpline with the well-known NHS 111 advice line to ensure that people in Northern Ireland have access to the same level of advice as citizens in England.

Our action plan published on 15 April 2020, www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-adult-social-care-action-plan supports care providers, the care workforce, unpaid carers, local authorities and the NHS for their ongoing hard work to maintain services and continue to provide high quality and safe social care to people throughout the pandemic

Where possible, the public (including older people, although we recognise internet usage is lower amongst this age group), are urged to seek guidance and advice on the COVID-19 outbreak via the government website www.gov.uk/coronavirus.