Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the indemnity on visits that has been granted to designated care homes which care for patients recovering from COVID-19 to all care settings; and whether this indemnity will be made permanent.

The Designated Settings Indemnity Support (DSIS) was introduced specifically to enable those care homes assured, or intending to be assured, by the Care Quality Commission as Designated Settings and which are unable to obtain sufficient insurance, to overcome this barrier to accepting infectious COVID-19 positive patients from the National Health Service. It is a targeted, temporary measure to boost capacity in these settings and support wider NHS discharges in response to current pandemic pressures. The support will run until the end of March 2021, with a review point in mid-February. The DSIS is not, therefore, a permanent or sector-wide intervention.

We recognise that the wider adult social care insurance market is changing in response to the pandemic and that some care providers may encounter difficulties as their policies come up for renewal. We are working closely across Government, with care providers and insurance representatives to understand the breadth and severity of these wider issues, including those related to visiting and whether there is any further action the Government should take.