Answer from Hansard

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper)

The covid-19 inquiry has today published its module 6 report on what Baroness Hallett calls the “devastating impact” of the pandemic “on people receiving and providing care and their loved ones.” My thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones in the pandemic, especially those who endured the immense distress and harm of visiting restrictions in care homes, which meant they could not be with loved ones even as they died. I also pay tribute to all those who worked to protect the most vulnerable in very difficult circumstances, from care workers to family members. The report finds that the adult social care sector was in a “fragile state” and insufficiently prepared for a pandemic, and that social care was too often treated as “an afterthought” in comparison with the priority placed on protecting the NHS. We will provide a full response to the report’s recommendations in due course, but I agree with the chair when she said that “for too long the adult social care sector has been undervalued and under-recognised”. That has to end and I hope we can work across parties to support the Prime Minister’s vision for a national care service.