Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with a learning disability are able to access a covid-19 vaccine booster.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the UK Health Security Agency, local authorities and voluntary sector partners to ensure the delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations to people with a learning disability and autism. Advice, training and guidance has been provided to all vaccination sites to consider communication and access needs for individuals and their families.

Primary Care Networks (PCNs) have been instructed to prioritise the administration of booster vaccines to those in at-risk groups, including people with a learning disability. General practitioners have been supported to appropriately identify those on the Learning Disability Register to invite them for a booster vaccination. Easy read letter templates and information materials have been developed for the invitation process. Individuals are invited to local PCN sites or provision is made via a roving team where individuals are in a care home, housebound or need delivery at home. People with a learning disability eligible for a booster dose can book at a mass vaccination site or at a local participating pharmacy. Individuals and families are being encouraged to raise any need for a reasonable adjustment required ahead of vaccination appointments.