Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government regarding the adequacy of funding to local authorities to support public engagement activities aimed at encouraging covid-19 vaccine uptake locally.

The Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly discuss local government funding. The specific issue of encouraging vaccine uptake is a public health matter and thus the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Significant additional funding has been made available for local public health responses to Covid-19. Chief among these is the Contain Outbreak Management Fund, which will provide over £2 billion across local authorities in England across the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 for a range of public health initiatives, including communications.

In addition, over £23 million in funding has been allocated through the Community Champions scheme to 60 councils and to voluntary groups across England to expand work to support those most at risk from Covid-19 and boost vaccine take up.

The Government’s plan to maximise Covid-19 vaccine uptake is available at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-uptake-plan/uk-covid-19-vaccine-uptake-plan.