Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's (JCVI) advice on priority groups for covid-19 vaccination and the UK covid-19 vaccines delivery plan, what estimate he has made of the number of unpaid carers who may be eligible for a vaccine in priority group six.

NHS England’s Standard Operating Procedure sets out how unpaid carers are being identified. NHS England estimates that there are approximately two million unpaid carers in England. This is based on the number of people either eligible for a carer’s allowance, identified through general pracitioner records, receiving support following a carer’s assessment by their local council or from a local carer’s organisation, or who are the sole or primary carer of an elderly or disabled person who is clinically vulnerable to COVID-19.

A bespoke process is being developed for any eligible but unknown unpaid carers so they can self-declare and still apply for priority vaccination.