Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with providers of managed quarantine hotels for travellers returning to the UK on ensuring adequate processing times for refund requests.
Answered by Caroline Johnson - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care’s Managed Quarantine Service (MQS) ended on 15 December 2021 when all countries were removed from the United Kingdom’s “red list”.
Corporate Travel Management (CTM) managed the booking system for MQS, taking payments from travellers and booking their rooms in MQS hotels across the UK.
Where a refund is due, the aim is to process this within 20 working days, though occasionally more information is required, which can cause delays. There are a very small number of refunds that are being processed, which we are aiming to action as quickly as possible. Customers are advised to contact UKHSA if they believe that they are still awaiting a refund so that this can be investigated.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to hold regular discussions with CTM on a range of issues.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the total outstanding amount owed in managed quarantine service charges for (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.
Answered by Maggie Throup
As of 1 March 2022, the Department was owed £3 million from 2020/21 and £71 million from 2021/22 from unpaid stays in the managed quarantine service or for tests purchased from Corporate Travel Management. This includes amounts owed by individuals on repayment plans due to financial hardship. All appropriate debts have been passed to the Department’s debt recovery partner for collection.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to assist travellers who are required to hotel quarantine as a result of returning to the UK from a covid-19 red list country in the event that those people have insufficient funds to pay the full cost of that quarantine upfront.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Payments can be made using debit or credit cards via the booking portal administered by Corporate Travel Management (CTM). CTM also provides a call centre for travellers having difficulty or need additional assistance in making their booking.
For those who will suffer severe financial hardship as a result of paying for the full cost of managed quarantine in advance, hardship arrangements may be available. This includes repayment plans, where the cost of managed quarantine is paid for in monthly instalments and in exceptional circumstances, fee reductions or waivers may be granted.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to limit the spread of covid-19 in hotels where international arrivals are required to quarantine.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has risk assessed international arrival journeys and advised the Managed Quarantine Service (MQS) on what mitigations to apply. The Standard Operating Procedures for MQS facilities have been implemented to reduce the risk of COVID-19 variants and infections. Each MQS supplier adheres to requirements set out in their contractual obligations in relation to infection control guidelines. The UKHSA also undertakes regular reviews with stakeholders to reduce the risk of infection for staff, guests and the public. The UKHSA also undertake regular staff testing and assist incident management teams to address any infection outbreaks.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications for exemption from the hotel quarantine system from travellers from red-list countries have been made; and how many of those applications have been granted.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information on exemptions from ‘red list’ countries is not available in a consolidated format as individual departments are responsible for managing exemptions relevant to their responsibilities. Exemptions from managed quarantine are agreed on a case by case basis and are recorded by the relevant Government department.
Exemptions include those that are work related such as jobs that are essential for the effective running of the country, for medical and compassionate reasons or for safeguarding unaccompanied minors. Those seeking an exemption on medical or compassionate grounds would be granted an exemption before travel while in some other categories, prior approval for an exemption is not required. In these cases, relevant documentation would be presented to confirm exemption from managed quarantine. Due to the range of conditions and evidence required to satisfy each exemption, this data is not collected in a central record.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been granted exemptions from quarantining in a hotel after returning from a covid-19 red list country; and for what reasons those exemptions were granted.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information on exemptions from ‘red list’ countries is not available in a consolidated format as individual departments are responsible for managing exemptions relevant to their responsibilities. Exemptions from managed quarantine are agreed on a case by case basis and are recorded by the relevant Government department.
Exemptions include those that are work related such as jobs that are essential for the effective running of the country, for medical and compassionate reasons or for safeguarding unaccompanied minors. Those seeking an exemption on medical or compassionate grounds would be granted an exemption before travel while in some other categories, prior approval for an exemption is not required. In these cases, relevant documentation would be presented to confirm exemption from managed quarantine. Due to the range of conditions and evidence required to satisfy each exemption, this data is not collected in a central record.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 26 July 2021 to Question 29827, whether the steps to centrally validate the data on the passengers entering from covid-19 red list countries who have been successful in applying for an exemption have been completed; and how many exemption applications have been successful.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information on exemptions from ‘red list’ countries is not available in a consolidated format as individual departments are responsible for managing exemptions relevant to their responsibilities. Exemptions from managed quarantine are agreed on a case by case basis and are recorded by the relevant Government department.
Exemptions include those that are work related such as jobs that are essential for the effective running of the country, for medical and compassionate reasons or for safeguarding unaccompanied minors. Those seeking an exemption on medical or compassionate grounds would be granted an exemption before travel while in some other categories, prior approval for an exemption is not required. In these cases, relevant documentation would be presented to confirm exemption from managed quarantine. Due to the range of conditions and evidence required to satisfy each exemption, this data is not collected in a central record.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that affordable covid-19 testing is available for people wishing to travel overseas.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We are working with private testing providers to reduce the cost of testing. We have reduced the cost of NHS Test and Trace tests for international arrivals from £88 to £68 for fully vaccinated arrivals and from £170 to £136 for two tests for arrivals who are not fully vaccinated. Since international travel testing requirements were introduced the average cost of a day two polymerase chain reaction test has fallen to £45.
For United Kingdom residents or individuals with residency rights who would suffer severe financial hardship by paying the full cost of their managed quarantine or testing fees before they travel, hardship arrangements may be available.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his department has had with the Department for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the diplomatic steps that may be taken to ensure the international recognition of Novavax trial participants to ensure that they are (a) exempt from quarantine and (b) not disadvantaged in comparison to those who have not taken part in the trial.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have worked very closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and their diplomatic posts in other countries to ensure participants should not have to quarantine and should be treated as fully vaccinated. Discussions are ongoing with other countries, including through groups such as the G7, G20, the European Commission and the World Health Organisation to shape the approach taken around the world to sharing health status for travel, including vaccination status. However, there is currently no internationally agreed policy on clinical trial participants, although we are starting to see movement on this issue.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) help ensure that there is mutual recognition of covid-19 vaccine records from countries outside the EU and (b) ensure that people who have been double-vaccinated abroad with a certified vaccine can obtain a covid-19 vaccine pass in the UK.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Those who are fully vaccinated from over 135 countries and territories will no longer need to quarantine or take a day eight test when arriving in the United Kingdom. Over 80 countries and territories have already accepted UK COVID-19 certificates, including the NHS COVID Pass, to demonstrate an individual’s status, including vaccination records and proof of recovery following a positive National Health Service polymerase chain reaction test.
The NHS Covid Pass programme has now linked with the European Union Digital COVID Certificate, ensuring that the UK and EU can digitally verify each other's vaccination status certificates. This also provides access to non-EU countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Israel and Iceland.
A pilot was launched in England on 30 September to enable residents vaccinated abroad to request that their vaccines are uploaded to the national database. Vaccines equivalent to those UK-approved, regulated by the European Medicines Agency, Health Canada, Swissmedic, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and United States Food and Drug Administration be recorded on an NHS COVID Pass.