Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on children's mental health and wellbeing of banning youth sport during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We recognise how critical sport and physical activity is for children and young people’s physical and mental wellbeing and their personal and social development. Schools remain open and children can participate in physical education and sport where it is part of the curriculum or part of the core timetable of the school.
Unfortunately, most organised children’s sport outside school activity has had to cease temporarily during this second period of lockdown, but sport and physical activity is permitted as part of other supervised activities, such as wraparound care or childcare facilities, where it is necessary to enable parents or carers to work, seek work, attend education or training, or for respite care.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many healthcare workers have been tested for covid-19 to date.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service has made testing available to all symptomatic NHS staff as a priority.
We are also testing those who are asymptomatic in specific circumstances where appropriate. For NHS workers specifically, NHS England has published guidance on when testing of this nature might be appropriate, including where an incident has taken place, an outbreak or where high prevalence has been established.