Social Care: Legislation

Baroness Pitkeathley Excerpts

Monday 11th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, my noble friend raises an issue that has been very much in our sights as we have prepared the progress report on funding. I can only ask her to be patient a little longer until the report is published.

[Baroness Pitkeathley]

My Lords, the Minister will know that many older people are concerned not only about how they will fund residential care, should they need it, but also about its quality. How will the White Paper ensure adequate and indeed satisfactory quality for the delivery of residential care, and also the competence of those who deliver it?

[Earl Howe]

As the noble Baroness will know, one of the main reasons that we wanted to engage widely in recent months with the sector was the very issue that she raised. The quality of social care, the training of those in the workforce and the supply of carers, both paid and unpaid, are concerns going into the future. As the noble Baroness will find out, this will be a major focus of the White Paper.