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The Health and Social Care Committee’s Reports on social care and the delivery of core...
Conclusion
The Health and Social Care Committee’s Reports on social care and the delivery of core NHS and care services during the pandemic also highlighted the impact of a lack of testing for social care staff in the initial wave of the pandemic. Evidence from across the sector, including from staff themselves, was unanimous that the lack of provision of regular testing for social care staff had meant that social care staff were more likely to transmit the disease within care homes.269 263 Q825 264 Q825 265 Oral evidence taken before the Health and Social Care Committee on 21 July 2020, HC (2019–21) 36, Q620 266 British Infection Association (CLL0079)) 267 Public Health England, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, The contribution of nosocomial infections to the first wave, 28 January 2021. 268 See paragraphs 263–267. 269 Health and Social Care Committee, Third Report of Session 2019–21, Social care: funding and workforce, HC 206, paras 44, 45; Health and Social Care Committee, Second Report of Session 2019–21, Delivering core NHS and care services during the pandemic and beyond, HC 320, Paras 91, 92 Coronavirus: lessons learned to date 65 100,000 tests a day target introduced by Secretary of State
Government Response
Acknowledged
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government partially accepts this recommendation. The government agrees that there is positive learning and engagement to be had with other countries, practitioners, and disciplines, as it has done since the start of the pandemic and continues to do so. The government will do this flexibly, as appropriate and proportionate against other priorities, especially during emergencies. The NSRA process is undertaken by the Cabinet Office and assesses the most significant malicious and non-malicious risks facing the UK and its interests overseas. These risks are presented as reasonable worst-case scenarios and scored by their likelihood and impact. The NSRA is used to inform planning in central and local government and support prioritisation and funding decisions. The NSRA is the basis of the public-facing National Risk Register (NRR). The Cabinet Office works in collaboration with the lead department for each risk and a range of expert bodies, including industry partners, academics, and subject matter experts, to assess existing and emerging risks in the UK. Sound expert challenge is a key element of the NSRA process, providing a means of ensuring the risk scenarios presented are robust and evidence based, incorporating the latest technical knowledge. Ahead of every cycle, the Cabinet Office reviews the methodology of the NSRA. For the first time, the Cabinet Office has commissioned an external group, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), to undertake a review of the NSRA methodology. RAEng has drawn on its extensive network of Fellows as well as academic and industry contacts to review the role of expert challenge in the NSRA and make recommendations for how this can be improved. As the methodology review concludes, the Cabinet Office is considering ways to substantially increase the accessibility of the NSRA to external experts and increase the diversity of challenge during and after the process. Learning from and sharing international practice is integral to the UK’s preparedness for and response to emergencies. The UK is a forefront Ally in NATO’s Civil Preparedness work, including meeting the baselines for national resilience, and the
Source
Inquiry
Coronavirus: lessons learnt
Report
Third Report - Coronavirus: lessons learned to date
12 Oct 2021
HC 92
Addressee Bodies
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Timeline
Recommendation age
4.6 yrs
Report published
12 Oct 2021