Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19: Adult Social Care

Tuesday 17 November 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The winter plan includes supplying free PPE and an additional 546 million for infection control in the adult social care sector.
  • Adult social care has been prioritised for testing, with care homes having access to whole care home testing since May.
  • More than 13 million test kits have been sent out to care homes, and over half a million staff and residents are tested weekly.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Suzanne Webb
NHS Social Care
Context

The question arises from concerns about how the government is supporting the adult social care sector amid the second wave of the pandemic.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to support the adult social care sector during the covid-19 outbreak. The winter plan includes supplying free PPE and an additional £546 million for infection control, bringing total funding to £1.1 billion.

Answer from Helen Whately

Our winter plan sets out what we are doing to support adult social care during the second wave of the pandemic, including supplying free PPE to meet social care's covid needs across domiciliary care, day care services and personal assistance as well as in care homes, and includes a further £546 million of funding for the infection control fund, bringing the total we have provided to social care for infection control to £1.1 billion.

Answered
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Q2 Suzanne Webb
NHS Social Care
Context

The question is prompted by news about new megalabs opening in 2021 that will increase UK's testing capacity, and seeks a commitment to prioritise social care with this increased capacity.

Question

Will my hon. Friend commit to prioritising the social care sector in this new capacity? The new megalabs will bring significant benefits but need explicit prioritisation for social care. This includes fast access to testing in Stourbridge and across the country, which is crucial.

Answer from Helen Whately

Adult social care has already been at the front of the queue for testing. Care homes have had whole care home testing since May, and more than 13 million test kits have been sent out to care homes. Every week we are testing more than half a million staff and residents, with nearly 90% of results back within 72 hours. I will continue to make sure that social care is a priority, going beyond care homes to include domiciliary care and supported living as we increase testing capacity.

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