Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what preparations his Department have made to procure adequate quantities of influenza vaccinations to prepare the adult social care workforce adequately in advance of the winter flu season; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for offering flu vaccination to social care workers rests with their employers as part of their occupational health responsibility to help protect both staff and those that they care for. All frontline social care workers are also eligible for free flu vaccinations through their general practitioner (GP) or local pharmacy. NHS England and NHS Improvement provided this complementary scheme to improve access for social care workers, and the scheme will continue in 2020/21.

GPs and pharmacies are responsible for ordering stock directly from manufacturers. However, as part of our planning for this winter, the Department has procured additional vaccine so that there is sufficient vaccine for all frontline social care workers to have the flu vaccine. The Department will shortly be publishing guidance on how providers can access the additional vaccine.