PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
NHS: Conditions of Employment (19 May 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) cleaners, (b) porters, (c) patient transport staff and (d) other outsourced NHS workers are eligible for the life assurance scheme for NHS and social care workers who die as a result of covid-19, announced on 27 April 2020.

Asked by:
James Murray (Labour)

The Government has launched a life assurance scheme for frontline National Health Service and social care staff. The scheme is non-contributory and pays a £60,000 lump sum where staff who had been recently working where personal care is provided to individuals who have contracted COVID-19 die as a result of the virus.

Cleaners, porters, patient transport staff and other outsourced NHS workers are eligible for the scheme, providing they satisfy the scheme eligibility criteria and were exposed to a high risk of contracting COVID-19, in circumstances where they could not reasonably avoid that risk because of the nature and location of their work.

As well as NHS employees, the scheme also covers staff who work for organisations that support the delivery of NHS services or work on an NHS contract, such as agency staff.

Answered by:
Helen Whately (Conservative)
2 June 2020