Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the circumstances are in which the easements provided for in the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014 would be activated under the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Guidance for local authorities on use of the Care Act 2014 easements states that they should only take a decision to begin exercising them when the workforce is significantly depleted, or demand on social care has increased, to an extent that it is no longer reasonably practicable for it to comply with its full Care Act duties (as they stand prior to amendment by the Coronavirus Act 2020) and where to continue to try to do so is likely to result in urgent or acute needs not being met, potentially risking life.