I asked the Health Secretary the following question:

CQC data has revealed a 175% increase in deaths of people with autism and learning difficulties last month, yet the new care home testing portal is only available to homes whose residents are aged 65 and over.

What is the Minister doing to ensure that all care homes are able to access tests? And will the government conduct a review of why there has been such a sharp increase in deaths among these groups?

Health Secretary response:

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Yes I did address this point in my opening response to the urgent question and we will roll out testing to care homes of all ages and this is an area I take very seriously indeed.

We are looking into the statistics that have been mentioned in the public domain as some of the statistics are not quite as they first seem and we will make sure we public accurate and full statistics because transparency is absolutely vital in this area.