Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he received a proposal, as part of the response to the initial request of seven North East Councils for further local restrictions due to the covid-19 outbreak, that included ensuring informal childcare arrangements could continue in that region.

The Government is committed to supporting families, including key workers, who rely on informal childcare so they can work. We listened to feedback from local authorities and Directors of Public Health, who supported the position that a specific exemption for informal childcare would particularly help working families in areas where interhousehold mixing was restricted.

Interhousehold mixing was banned in some areas under local restrictions, including parts of the North East. From Tuesday 22 September, care bubbles are able to form in areas of intervention, to allow families to share caring responsibilities with another household.