Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the qualifying criteria will be for NHS staff to receive death in service benefit.

The Government launched the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance scheme on 20 May 2020. The scheme is non-contributory and pays a £60,000 lump sum where frontline National Health Service and social staff who had been recently working where personal care is provided to individuals who have contracted COVID-19 die as a result of the virus.

NHS staff are eligible, providing that they meet the scheme eligibility criteria; that they were exposed to a high risk of contracting COVID-19, in circumstances where they could not reasonably avoid that risk because of the nature and location of their work. Further detail on the scheme, including more information on the eligibility criteria and the full scheme rules, has been published on the NHS Business Services Authority’s website.

Staff who are members of the NHS Pension Scheme may also qualify for additional benefits through their pension.