Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the preparedness of the social care sector for surges in covid-19 and other respiratory diseases in winter 2021; and what contingency planning his Department is undertaking to support that sector.

We are working closely with the adult social care sector to prepare for winter, building on the lessons learned throughout the pandemic and in line with clinical advice from Public Health England and the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies.