Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle social isolation experienced by disabled children and their families during the covid-19 outbreak.

In 2020/21 we allocated £3.6 million to voluntary and community sector organisations to support autistic people, people with a learning disability and disabled people, including disabled children and their families, throughout the pandemic. This funded services providing direct, practical support for their physical and mental wellbeing including learning and play opportunities for disabled children to help combat social isolation and accessible arts, sports and wellbeing activities for children and adults with complex disabilities. In addition, through the ‘COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan’, we have invested over £31.5 million in organisations supporting people who experience loneliness, refreshed our Let’s Talk Loneliness campaign, and brought together a Tackling Loneliness Network.