Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

What recent assessment he has made of the causal factors for the mortality rate in the care home population during the covid-19 outbreak.

Care homes were hard hit by COVID-19 despite all the efforts of Government, local authorities and care homes themselves.

Our understanding of this cruel disease has informed all the steps taken to protect residents.

And there is ongoing work by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies care home working group to improve our understanding which will in turn inform our actions.