Covid-19: Supporting the vulnerable during lockdown

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 1 Feb 2021 Closed: 28 Jun 2021 Parliament page
Starting from the end of March 2020, the government advised some 2.2 million people who it considered to be “clinically extremely vulnerable” to covid-19 that they should shield at home for 12 weeks, to protect themselves from the virus. For those shielding, the government offered support with food and medicine, … Read more
6 Recommendations
20 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
2 Nov
2021
Correspondence
2 Sep
2021
Report published
21 Apr
2021
Report published
16 Mar
2021
Correspondence
22 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
22 Feb 2021
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COVID-19: Supporting the vulnerable during lockdown
Ben Llewelyn · MHCLG David Kennedy · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Dr Jenny Harries OBE · UK Health Security Agency Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence Lee McDonough · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Mark Reynolds · NHS Digital Sir Chris Wormald · Department of Health and Social Care
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifty-Third Report - Covid 19: supporting the vulnerable during … HC 938 21 Apr 2021 26 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Third Report - Covid 19: sup…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), … Read more
Government Response
The government provides background information on the shielding programme, including the number of people identified, the support provided, and the expenditure, and acknowledges the committee's process of taking evidence for its report.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Third Report - Covid 19: sup…
As its understanding of the disease has grown, DHSC has developed a new risk assessment...
As its understanding of the disease has grown, DHSC has developed a new risk assessment tool, QCovid, to identify people at risk based on wider factors which make them at more risk from COVID-19. DHSC described the tool as having … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the conclusion by describing how the QCovid tool improved the identification of clinically extremely vulnerable people through the introduction of non-clinical factors.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Third Report - Covid 19: sup…
NHS Digital created the first iteration of the list of some 900,000 people within two...
NHS Digital created the first iteration of the list of some 900,000 people within two days using readily accessible data sources—hospital, maternity and prescribed medicines data. By 12 April 2020, three weeks after shielding began, a further 420,000 people had … Read more
Government Response
The government disagreed with the conclusion that they took too long to identify vulnerable people, asserting they worked as quickly as possible. However, they committed to learning lessons to improve future use of national data for identifying at-risk groups.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Third Report - Covid 19: sup…
Defra was chosen to lead on providing food to people shielding because, according to MHCLG,...
Defra was chosen to lead on providing food to people shielding because, according to MHCLG, it had the expertise and relationships with the food industry.42 Defra consulted with supermarkets and wholesalers, to understand their capacity to provide people with food, … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's observations and clarifies that the central system was not chosen due to a lack of confidence in local authorities. It details ongoing local support, funding, and collaboration with councils for shielding support.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Third Report - Covid 19: sup…
In August 2020, the government conducted an early lessons learned review of the programme which...
In August 2020, the government conducted an early lessons learned review of the programme which noted that, should shielding be needed again, a local support model could improve flexibility and potentially be more cost-effective.46 MHCLG told us how it started … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the observation about moving to a locally-led model for shielding support, reinforcing that councils are crucial partners, have received funding, and are confident in providing support. It also confirms continued collaboration and funding review.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 26 of 6 classified
Accepted 14
Acknowledged 5
Not Addressed 2
Rejected 5
Total 6 recs + 20 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
2 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re 53rd Report session 2019-21 – Covid-19 Supporting the vulnerable, dated 26 October 2021
Parliament page
16 Mar 2021 Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re COVID-19: Supporting the vulnerable during lockdown, dated 10 March 2021
Parliament page