Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by the Office for National Statistics on covid-19 deaths by occupation in England and Wales, published on 25 January 2021, if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care the potential merits of classifying food production staff as a priority group for the second phase of the covid-19 vaccination rollout.

The Government has decided that the vaccine delivery plan should prioritise preventing mortality, by directly protecting those most at risk of death and hospitalisation. With this direction, the Joint Committee for Vaccines and Immunisation (JVCI) has been tasked with putting forward advice on prioritisation. This will carefully consider the arguments for prioritising sectors within the overall goal around health outcomes. We will ensure Defra sectors, including food production workers, are fully considered in this process.