Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how is he resourcing local environmental health teams to ensure that all biosecure steps are being taken to protect people from contracting covid-19.

The Government has allocated over £12 billion directly to councils since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, over £6 billion of which is unringfenced in recognition that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet additional pressures in their local area.

The funding allocated also includes the Contain Outbreak Management Fund which was provided for use in test, trace and contain activity in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus in local areas. By the end of 2020/21, the Government had provided local authorities with over £1.7 billion from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund, with a further £400 million allocated for 2021/22.

My Department has also convened the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group to help us understand the pressures facing regulatory services teams in local government, including environmental health teams, and to propose short and long-term options to support the sector.