Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure homeless people diagnosed with HIV and HCV during the covid-19 outbreak are retained in clinical care.

NHS England are working across the National Health Service, public health and social care, local government and voluntary sector to ensure that people who are homeless, in particular those who are rough sleeping and have been provided with temporary accommodation to keep them safe during the COVID-19 outbreak, have a holistic health and care assessment as part of the planning for their longer term accommodation options.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have issued operational guidance to support local areas on oversight and implementation of the health response for the rough sleeping population. They have also published a Clinical Homeless Sector Plan, which sets out clinical advice and guidance on delivering a health-led, multi-agency approach to reducing the risk of infection and severe illness among the homeless population.