Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a proportionate regulatory framework for day care services for older and disabled adults, including dementia day care services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and social care in England. The CQC monitors, inspects, and regulates adult social care services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. Where concerns on quality or safety are identified, the CQC uses its regulatory and enforcement powers available and will take action to ensure the safety of people drawing on care and support.

Day care services are operated by local authorities, the National Health Service, or voluntary/private organisations. These services operate in the premises in which social, recreational, and care services may be provided to people who need them, due to old age, illness, or disability. Currently, day care services for older and disabled adults, including dementia day care, in which no personal care is provided, are not regulated by the CQC. For day care services to be brought into scope of the CQC’s regulatory remit would require a change in legislation.

These regulations are not currently under review. Any amendments to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 would be subject to the usual Parliamentary process which would include a public consultation, and thus an opportunity to consider the merits of further regulation of social care providers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of including maintenance loans as part of a student loan on students from lower income backgrounds.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We have future-proofed our maintenance offer by confirming that we will increase maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. This will provide students with long-term financial certainty on the support they will receive while studying and ensure that students from the lowest income families receive the largest year-on-year cash increases in support. Maximum loans for living costs for undergraduate students will increase by 2.71% for the 2026/27 academic year.

From 2028/29, maintenance grants will support full-time students from low-income households studying courses aligned with the government’s missions. The grants will provide disadvantaged full-time students with up to £1,000 extra per year on top of existing maintenance loans, increasing cash for students without increasing their debt.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Rupert

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Rupert

Found: Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts (Labour; Sheffield South East) Anna Dixon

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah

Found: Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts (Labour; Sheffield South East) Anna Dixon

Found: Q30 Anna Dixon: Apologies to everyone for my late arrival.

Found: Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts (Labour; Sheffield South East) Anna Dixon

Found: Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts (Labour; Sheffield South East) Anna Dixon

Found: Clifton-Brown (Conservative; North Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts (Labour; Sheffield South East) Anna Dixon