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 provide further support for (a) domiciliary care providers and (b) domiciliary care staff.

To provide further support for domiciliary providers, we have extended the Infection Control and Testing Fund by a further £388.3 million until 31 March 2022. Domiciliary care providers are able to access this funding to put in place effective infection prevention and control measures, including supporting testing and increasing vaccine uptake.

We have made available two rounds of the Workforce Recruitment and Retention fund, totalling £462.5 million to support local authorities and care providers recruit and retain care staff. Home care workers will be eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa for a 12-month period and added to the shortage occupation list, making it quicker, cheaper and easier to recruit eligible workers from overseas to fill vital gaps.

The Government has committed to providing free Personal Protective Equipment for their COVID-19 needs until the end of March 2023. To support staff, a bespoke testing supply channel has been set up to enable asymptomatic home carers to access weekly polymerase chain reaction tests to administer at home. Domiciliary care workers have been prioritised for the COVID-19 vaccine and we have made free flu vaccines available to eligible staff.

We are continuously reviewing our guidance to ensure that staff working in domiciliary care are receiving up to date advice to keep them as safe as possible during this time.