Fifty-Third Report - Covid 19: supporting the vulnerable during lockdown

The government commits to learning lessons from identifying CEV people and improving national data use. Work is underway on a national GP dataset and digitising the health service with shared care records, which will be detailed in a forthcoming draft data strategy for health and social care.

The government agrees there was huge local variation and commits to conducting further analysis to understand the drivers and identify lessons for the future, with findings to be provided to the Committee by October 2021.

The government disagreed that a centrally-directed system was chosen due to lack of confidence in local authorities, highlighting councils as crucial partners. They stated that councils received funding, demonstrated good performance, and MHCLG continues to work closely with them and keep funding under review to ensure their capacity and resilience.

The government acknowledges the difficulties faced by non-clinically vulnerable groups and highlights existing support services such as priority supermarket referrals and NHS Volunteer Responders, committing to consider future preparedness measures for such groups.

The government disagrees with the conclusion that identification took too long but states it is committed to learning lessons and that work is already underway to develop a strategic national GP dataset, digitize the health service, and publish a data strategy.

The government stated that work is already underway, with NHS Digital developing a national GP dataset for faster access to information and working on digitising health records and shared care. These developments will be outlined in a forthcoming data strategy for health and social care.

The government agrees to provide a detailed explanation for the local variation in the shielded patient list growth and identify lessons for a consistent clinical approach, committing to send these findings to the Committee by October 2021.

The government agrees to provide a detailed explanation for the local variation in the shielded patient list growth and identify lessons for a consistent clinical approach, committing to send these findings to the Committee by October 2021.

The government agrees to provide a detailed explanation for the local variation in the shielded patient list growth and identify lessons for a consistent clinical approach, committing to send these findings to the Committee by October 2021.

The government disagreed that there was huge local variation, stating that most areas fell within expected distributions, while acknowledging six areas added more people than expected. They committed to conducting further analysis to understand this variation and identify lessons, with findings to be reported to the Committee by October 2021.

The government accepts the recommendation and states it has tested future delivery confidence with councils, finding them confident to rapidly stand up shielding support, and continues to work closely with them while keeping funding under review.

The government states it agrees with the recommendation (likely an implicit one regarding local authority capacity) and considers it implemented. MHCLG has tested future delivery confidence with councils and continues to work closely with them to ensure support for CEV individuals.

The government acknowledges the issue of inaccurate contact details and states NHSX is leading a program to improve patient contact details and ensure the NHS Number is the primary identifier. DHSC and NHS Digital will report back with details of ongoing work and plans.

The government stated that during the shielding program, DHSC used letters to encourage CEV people to update their GP contact details to facilitate communication, aligning with the committee's observation.