Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department has allocated to (a) NHS and (b) public sector staff who have been asked to shield during the covid-19 outbreak.

Where individuals have been advised to shield, guidance available on gov.uk should be followed wherever possible. Employers are expected to support staff to safely shield.

Those working for fully funded public sector organisations, including those that need to shield, should be paid as normal out of existing budgets.

Arrangements should have been made to facilitate working from home wherever possible, and reprioritisation and redeployment should be considered to minimise issues with service delivery.

In public sector organisations not fully funded by public grants, where working from home has not been possible, shielding staff were eligible for furlough, and the scheme continues to support them. In all instances, CJRS claims should remain proportionate to the impact on revenue disruption, and those that need to shield should be furloughed before other staff. It should be noted that from 1 July, employees can only be furloughed if they have completed the minimum 3-week furlough period between 1 March and 30 June.

Similarly, guidance issued by NHS England states that staff will continue to receive full pay for any period in which they are required to self-isolate as a result of public health advice.

The Chancellor has been clear that the NHS will receive as much funding as needed to manage the Covid-19 outbreak, with £31.9 billion of support now approved for health and care services.