Asked by: Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to introduce legislation to facilitate face-to-face visits between people in residential care homes and persons significant to them, in line with the recommendations made by the Joint Committee on Human Rights in their letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 3 February.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We expect care homes to enable visiting unless they have a current outbreak, in which case visiting is more limited. We are currently pursuing non-legislative routes to make sure this is followed, involving our regional assistance team, local authorities and the Care Quality Commission. This approach allows us to move more swiftly in changing circumstances and to accommodate all care homes.