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 effectiveness of co-operation between Public Health England and the Care Quality Commission on (a) delivering monitoring procedures over care homes in respect of the spread of covid-19 and (b) mitigating cases of covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Public Health England (PHE) holds regular meetings with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to discuss the spread of COVID-19 in care homes and management of outbreaks. PHE has shared a care home situation report which provides data on outbreaks with the CQC on a daily basis since 1 April 2020. The CQC and PHE continue to work closely to ensure an effective and joined up response in relation to the spread and mitigation of COVID-19. PHE and the CQC along with other national and local organisations are contributing to the care home support package announced on 14 May. Further information can be found at the following link:
PHE data on care home outbreaks, published weekly, indicates that the reported number of outbreaks in care homes has been decreasing since 6 April 2020. The latest report can be found at the following link: