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 potential merits of providing covid-19 testing and personal protective equipment to family carers on a similar basis to the provision of that equipment to care home staff.

In response to clinical advice and following a successful pilot, free personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 needs is now being provided to unpaid carers who do not live with the person they care for. In line with the Government’s commitment to provide free PPE for COVID-19 needs to the adult social care sector, this offer for unpaid carers is currently available until the end of June 2021 and can be accessed through local authorities and local resilience forums.
As of May 2020, the Government included unpaid carers in its list of essential workers and those prioritised for COVID-19 testing in England. If they have symptoms of COVID-19, unpaid carers can book a test directly online and access testing themselves or for members of their household who are experiencing symptoms.