Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they plan to provide to charities and the voluntary sector to protect elderly people from being attacked in their homes by people who gain entrance on false pretences, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public safety and protecting the most vulnerable people in society from coronavirus is this government’s top priority. The Government has prepared ‘how to help safely’ guidance on Gov.uk to advise individuals and charities how they can help those isolating - including friends, family members and neighbours. This guidance is also accessible for the new Covid Mutual Aid groups that have been set up in response to the crisis. These pages have been accessed over 174,000 times since publication.

Genuine volunteers have been instructed not to enter people’s homes, unless deemed essential. We advise that vulnerable people take general precautions such as asking for ID, not sharing financial details and, if in doubt, do not engage and report serious suspicious behaviour to the police.