NHS England advised local vaccination sites that Primary Care Networks should focus their efforts on inviting priority cohort six, which includes adults who had required hospital admission due to the severity of their asthma.

As of 27 January 2021, the NHS COVID-19 app has been downloaded 21,629,902 times. As COVID-19 app users are anonymous, we cannot determine who has or has not been contacted by Test and Trace as well as receiving an app notification to self-isolate following contact with a positive case.

The information is relating to those communicated with is not held in the format requested, as data is not collected on a daily basis.

If a local authority has used all of its discretionary funding, it is a matter for the authority to decide whether to accept further applications or to use other sources of funding to make these payments. While local authorities cannot apply directly for further discretionary funding, the Government has increased provision to local authorities to make discretionary payments to £20 million per month from March 2021.The amount paid for approved applications under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme remains at £500 per case and as such local authorities cannot make a reduced payment.

The Government has put in place the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history. NHS Test and Trace has capacity to respond to increases in demand and people can have confidence that if they have symptoms and need a test, they can get one, and get their result the next day. Over 72 million tests have been processed so far and we have the capacity to carry out almost 800,000 tests per day The Test and Trace Support Payment has been introduced in response to feedback from local authorities and directors of public health that some of their residents were struggling to self-isolate as directed due to financial constraints. It is to help ensure that people on low incomes self-isolate when they test positive or are identified as a contact, and to encourage more people to get tested. This will help to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. 86.4% (171,847) of people who tested positive and were transferred to the contact tracing system were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts and 96.6% of contacts where communication details were given were reached and told to self-isolate. This has remained constant for the past five weeks. It is a legal requirement to self-isolate if you have Covid symptoms, receive a positive test result, or are told to isolate by NHS Test and Trace.

The vast majority of people are complying – and know that we all have a role to play in getting this virus under control. And for those who don’t, the police can and will request data from NHS Test and Trace to confirm that an individual has a legal duty to self-isolate.

The following table shows the number of tests carried out per week in Lancashire since mass testing in started on 21 October 2020.

The following table shows the number of tests per week in Pendle since mass testing started on 7 November 2020.

The following table shows the number of tests per week in Burnley since mass testing on 13 November 2020.

From 10 December 2020, rapid regular testing for people without symptoms of COVID-19 has been made available across the country with the eligibility of the community testing programme expanded to cover all 314 lower-tier local authorities.

While we have not made a specific assessment of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, we would not hesitate to act in response to an increase in infections. We worked closely with businesses to ensure they were COVID-19 secure.

Currently, the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector is being explored by the Government through various studies with the Office for National Statistics, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Public Health England.

We have not made an assessment of the specific influence of weather on the transmission of COVID-19. However, as people to spend more time indoors during the winter which increases the time spent in close proximity to others, the risks of has led to an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations.

We have made no specific assessment.

COVID-19 spreads from person to person through small droplets, aerosols and through direct contact. Surfaces and belongings can also be contaminated with COVID-19 when people with the infection cough or sneeze or touch them. The risk of spread is greatest when people are close to each other, especially in poorly ventilated indoor spaces and when people spend a lot of time together in the same room.

Estimates previously provided by NHS England and NHS Improvement to the Department indicated that the set-up cost for the Nightingale hospitals would be approximately £220 million. The following table breaks down the original estimate by each individual Nightingale Hospital:

Accurate estimates for per site running costs and stand-by costs are not yet available.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are in the process of reviewing all spending incurred for each individual site. The forecast for total costs including set-up, running costs, stand-by costs, and costs of decommissioning across all Nightingales will reach around £532 million covering the tail end of 2020/21 and 2021/22.

We are working closely with all 314 lower tier and unitary local authorities to collate information on how the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme is progressing and will release information on the number of applications, number of successful applications and amounts paid out in due course.

Local authorities have been given additional funding to enable them to make discretionary £500 payments to people who do not fulfil the main eligibility criteria but will still face hardship if they have to self-isolate. It is for local authorities to make decisions on applications for discretionary payments, based on the individual circumstances of the applicant.

We have worked closely with local authorities in England and we have provided an initial £50 million to cover their costs for administering the scheme as follows:

- £25 million to cover the costs of the support payment;

- £15 million for discretionary payments; and

- £10 million for administration costs.

The Department has met with organisations representing the health sector, adult social care sector, charities and patient groups to gather insight and build support for pro-vaccine communications to encourage take-up of potential COVID-19 vaccines. These stakeholders represent groups that reflect the interim prioritisation advice published by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which recommends that the vaccine should first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 years old and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors in the initial phase. Messaging will address vaccine safety, quality and efficacy of any vaccine.

The NHS Long Term Plan commits all major national programmes and every local area across England to set out specific measurable goals and mechanisms by which they will contribute to narrowing health inequalities over the next five and ten years.

On economy and productivity, the Government is levelling up opportunity across the United Kingdom to ensure that everyone can benefit from economic growth. For example, HM Treasury has provided £1 billion for local projects to boost local economic growth. In the North of England this includes so far over half a million self-employed people have been supported through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, with claims worth over £1 billion. Furthermore, over 2 million jobs have been protected through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and business support loans worth over £10.5 billion have been provided.

As part of their comprehensive activation plans, each Nightingale team has been developing a clinical model that can be scaled up as and when additional capacity is required in the region. This ensures that the right skill mix of staff will be available from National Health Service trusts in the region and via NHS Professionals and through direct recruitment if required.

The overall capacity of Nightingale hospitals is not fixed and can be scaled according to requirement. As part of their comprehensive activation plans, each Nightingale team has developed a clinical model that can be scaled up as and when additional capacity is required in the region. This ensures that the right skill mix of staff will be available from National Health Service trusts in the region and via NHS Professionals and through direct recruitment if required.

The Health Infrastructure Plan set out this Government’s approach to long-term investment in the healthcare system to ensure both staff and patients continue to have access to world-class facilities. In line with this, the Department provided both the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust with £3.7 million each of seed funding to kick-start their schemes and to support both trusts in their development of plans for improving facilities for the staff and patients of their communities.

The two neighbouring trusts have been, and continue to, work in close collaboration to develop different options for how to proceed that represent the best outcome for the area as a whole. These plans are in the early stage of their development and when developed further, will be subject to public consultation as an integral part in developing the collective and cohesive strategy.

The Government will fully cover the payments to eligible applicants as well as the administration costs of the scheme. The total expenditure will depend on the incidence of COVID-19 over the coming months. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health and Social Care will be providing more information on the cost of the scheme as it is evaluated.

Central Government is working closely with local areas through the Joint Biosecurity Centre, NHS Test and Trace and Public Health England to support local decision-making and keep Ministers updated on outbreaks. Under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No.3) Regulations 2020 which came into force on 18 July, local authorities have new powers to impose restrictions in respect of venues, events and public outdoor places. These powers are in addition to the existing powers they have under diverse legislation such as public health, health and safety and environmental health laws. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care retains the ability to direct local authorities to take action, and to consider whether any use of these new powers is appropriate. Where more restrictive powers are needed, this will be a matter for Ministers. At every step, central Government will remain integral to the response and will ensure it is appropriate to protect the public.

The Department is currently working with a number of local authorities to identifying clusters and outbreaks. These are escalated to local public health specialists, in line with existing health protection incident management arrangements.

If someone has tested positive for COVID-19 and we have been unable to contact them, we may pass their contact details to the local authority team to collect information about their contacts.

Also, where someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 works in or has recently attended a complex setting such as a prison, school, or hospital, contact tracing will be carried out by local public health specialists.

Dentistry is a universal NHS service available to all who are entitled to use NHS services. There are no age restrictions. If anyone of any age is having difficulty finding a National Health Service dentist they should contact NHS 111 for advice on locating a practice able to offer care. There have been no reports that NHS England and NHS Improvement are aware of that older people have more difficulty than younger people in finding an NHS dentist.

Information is not held on the number of practices in England covered by an NHS contract. Information is held on the number of treatment locations there are in England where NHS dentistry is provided. This information is not held for 1990 or 2000 or 2015. As of 1 March 2020, the NHS Business Services Authority advises there were approximately 7,400 treatment locations in England providing some NHS care. Information is not held on which of these saw patients over the age of 65. NHS dentists are expected to treat patients of all ages and it would be very exceptional if a practice happened to have no patients in this age group.

Dentistry is a universal NHS service available to all who are entitled to use NHS services. There are no age restrictions. If anyone of any age is having difficulty finding a National Health Service dentist they should contact NHS 111 for advice on locating a practice able to offer care. There have been no reports that NHS England and NHS Improvement are aware of that older people have more difficulty than younger people in finding an NHS dentist.

Information is not held on the number of practices in England covered by an NHS contract. Information is held on the number of treatment locations there are in England where NHS dentistry is provided. This information is not held for 1990 or 2000 or 2015. As of 1 March 2020, the NHS Business Services Authority advises there were approximately 7,400 treatment locations in England providing some NHS care. Information is not held on which of these saw patients over the age of 65. NHS dentists are expected to treat patients of all ages and it would be very exceptional if a practice happened to have no patients in this age group.