Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prioritise crematorium and funeral workers for receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI identified that the vaccination of frontline healthcare workers should be a priority for the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Frontline staff are at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection but also of transmitting that infection to multiple persons who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 as well as to other staff in a healthcare environment.
Crematorium operations may involve handling the deceased and therefore present a risk of exposure to COVID-19. However, these functions do not necessitate entering or accessing a healthcare setting so there is a low risk of transmitting infection to multiple vulnerable persons or other staff in a healthcare environment.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the imposition of local covid-19 restrictions on 29 June 2020, if he will publish the evidence which informed the Government’s decision not to implement district-level restrictions in areas with high infection rates such as Ashford in Kent.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Restrictions are not placed on district level but at county and regional levels. Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators; the case detection rate in all age groups; case detection rates among the over 60 year olds; the rate at which case rates are rising or falling; the positivity rate; and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the lowest number is of positive covid-19 cases which an area must have per 100,000 of their population before moving from tier 3 to tier 2 restrictions.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We do not make decisions on restrictions based purely on the case rate per 100,000 of population. Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators; the case detection rate in all age groups; case detection rates among the over 60 year olds; the rate at which case rates are rising or falling; the positivity rate; and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the criteria is for an area to given a Tier 4 covid-19 lockdown designation.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators - the case detection rate in all age groups, case detection rates among the over 60 year olds, the rate at which case rates are rising or falling, positivity rate and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
As of 6 January, all areas have been moved into tier 4 and the Government will review the tiering allocations every 14 days.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of categorising crematorium and cemetery staff as frontline healthcare staff for the purposes of the covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI identified that the vaccination of frontline healthcare workers should be a priority for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, as they are at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection and also transmitting that infection to those vulnerable to COVID-19 and other staff.
Crematorium operations may involve handling the deceased and therefore present a risk of exposure to COVID-19. However, these functions do not necessitate entering or accessing a healthcare setting and therefore presents a low risk of transmitting infection to vulnerable persons or other staff in a healthcare environment.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria he plans to apply to determine which covid-19 tier each local authority area will be included in at the end of the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown arrangements.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators - the case detection rate in all age groups, case detection among the over 60 year olds, the rate at which case rates are rising or falling, positivity rate and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
As of 6 January, all areas have been moved into tier 4 and the Government will review the tiering allocations every 14 days.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the criteria he will use to determine when an area can be moved to a lower tier of covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators - the case detection rate in all age groups, case detection rates among the over 60 year olds, the rate at which case rates are rising or falling, positivity rate and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
As of 6 January, all areas have been moved into tier 4 and the Government will review the tiering allocations every 14 days.
Asked by: Marcus Fysh (Conservative - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data on covid-19 would be required and what criteria would need to be met for him to recommend an exit from the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown restrictions in England.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators - the case detection rate in all age groups, case detection rates among the over 60 year olds, the rate at which case rates are rising or falling, positivity rate and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
As of 6 January, all areas have moved into tier 4 and the Government will review the tiering allocations every 14 days.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his criteria are for determining (a) which covid-19 restriction tier each region is placed under and (b) when an area can be moved down one tier.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators - the case detection rate in all age groups, case detection rate among the over 60 year olds, the rate at which case rates are rising or falling, positivity rate and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
As of 6 January, all areas have been moved into tier 4 and the Government will review the tiering allocations every 14 days.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the criteria are for local authorities in the tier 2 covid-19 level to move to tier 1.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators - the case detection rate in all age groups, case detection rates among the over 60 year olds, the rate at which case rates are rising or falling, positivity rate and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.
As of 6 January, all areas have been moved into tier 4 and the Government will review the tiering allocations every 14 days.