Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government to what level the COVID-19 infection rate would need to rise for shielding to be re-introduced (1) locally, and (2) nationally.

We are working with a consortium of leading academics and the National Health Service to develop a new risk assessment tool that will allow us to better judge the risk that individuals face from COVID-19. This means that if the shielding policy needs to be started again in the event of an increase in the COVID-19 infection rate or in local lockdowns, we will be able to better target interventions and have a much stronger scientific basis for our approach to risk management for those most at risk.

There is no predetermined infection rate at which shielding may be reintroduced. Any decision to restart shielding would be based on clinical advice at the time taking into account the particular circumstances. We are keeping this under constant review.