Helen Whately corrected a written answer on Coronavirus: Disability

16 March 2021 · Commons written answer · Department of Health and Social Care

Dame Diana Johnson (Labour, Kingston upon Hull North) asked written question 153163 on 11 February 2021. Helen Whately answered on 24 February 2021 for the Department of Health and Social Care, and Helen Whately corrected the answer on 16 March 2021. The corrected text no longer gives the figures 6.9, 8.0. Altogether 147 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to finding by the Office of National Statistics that 60 per cent of deaths involving covid-19 between 24 January and 20 November 2020 were disabled people, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled people are protected from covid-19 in the future.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
The ~~most recent monthly data from Skills for~~ Care ~~indicates that the vacancy rate of directly employed staff in~~ social care ~~has reduced~~ to ~~6.9% in January 2021~~ from ~~8.0% in February 2020.~~	We are protecting disabled people through a range of actions. We are advising people with specific health conditions, who are deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, to shield and providing direct support to the shielded population. Local councils are also providing support to people shielding. We are prioritising vaccinations for those who are most at risk and those who care for them, following the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Many disabled people received social care. The Adult Social Care Winter Plan sets out our support to social care through the winter, so people can continue to receive care and be protected whilst protecting people from COVID-19. This includes providing free personal protective equipment to care homes and domiciliary care providers.

Original

Corrected

The ~~most recent monthly data from Skills for~~ Care ~~indicates that the vacancy rate of directly employed staff in~~ social care ~~has reduced~~ to ~~6.9% in January 2021~~ from ~~8.0% in February 2020.~~

We are protecting disabled people through a range of actions. We are advising people with specific health conditions, who are deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, to shield and providing direct support to the shielded population. Local councils are also providing support to people shielding. We are prioritising vaccinations for those who are most at risk and those who care for them, following the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Many disabled people received social care. The Adult Social Care Winter Plan sets out our support to social care through the winter, so people can continue to receive care and be protected whilst protecting people from COVID-19. This includes providing free personal protective equipment to care homes and domiciliary care providers.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1286423?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`a17230650eec41c3e0d416411ede1a360886a21e1a821d925ac9cfc5d627cd21`