Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to involve local authority employed environmental health officers in Government organised contact-tracing of covid-19.

MHCLG continues to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and local authorities to manage the impacts of COVID-19.

DHSC are in the process of recruiting 18,000 staff, and that number will be increased if needed. Local authority membership bodies are helping to design the model and authorities will be asked if they can contribute staff to this collective effort. The recruitment process is underway and staff will of course receive training and support for the role they are given.