Electronic Commerce: Coronavirus

(asked on 22nd April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of adoption of the extremely vulnerable category in policies pertaining to online shopping.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 28th April 2020

The Government is working to ensure that approximately 1.8 million people in England identified by the NHS as being at higher risk of severe illness if they contract Coronavirus have access to the food they need. The Government continues to contact this cohort of shielded individuals and ask them to register via the online Government webportal or via the phone if they need help accessing food.

In partnership with industry, the Government started to deliver shielding packages in late March, to those that are clinically extremely vulnerable and have requested this support. These packages consist of essential supplies and food. Supermarkets are also prioritising online delivery slots for those that are most in need and have expanded their capacity for home deliveries.

Just over 800,000 have registered online via the online webportal. Of this group, just over 250,000 have indicated that they need support to access food. Supermarkets are reporting good rates of matches to their customer bases and high numbers of orders. We are asking those who need to shield to also make sure that they are registered online directly with supermarkets, so that they can be matched and offered delivery.

We are also working quickly to support people who do not fall into the category of being clinically extremely vulnerable, but still need help getting essential food supplies. This includes those who are elderly, disabled or have health conditions that make it difficult for them to get the food they need. We are speaking to food retailers, delivery organisations and volunteer groups to help prioritise those individuals to access essential food. Wherever possible, people should continue to rely on friends, family and wider community support.

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