Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Disabled Children's Partnership, entitled The loneliest lockdown, published in March 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in that report that 90 per cent of children feel socially isolated.

No specific assessment has been made. However, we are continuing to carefully consider the specific risks and impacts that disabled people, including disabled children, face as a result of the pandemic and put in place the necessary mitigations to protect and support them.

During 2020/21 we allocated £3.6 million to voluntary and community sector organisations to support autistic people, people with a learning disability and disabled people, including disabled children and their families, throughout the pandemic. This funded services providing direct, practical support for their physical and mental wellbeing, including learning and play opportunities for disabled children to help combat social isolation.