Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the priority given to frontline social workers as part of the covid-19 vaccination programme.

The Government takes advice from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) regarding who should be vaccinated first and this is kept under review. The JCVI has advised that the vaccine first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 years old and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk.

All frontline social care workers directly working with clinically vulnerable people who need care and support will be a priority for phase one of the vaccine programme.