Oral Answers to Questions

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 8th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

If he will hold discussions with relevant cross-party stakeholders on social care reforms.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

If he will publish a timetable for adult social care reforms.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

What steps his Department is taking to bring forward proposals on social care reform.

--- Later in debate ---

[Helen Whately]

As the hon. Member says, this week is Carers Week, which is a really good opportunity to raise awareness about the important role that carers play in supporting loved ones and to remember something that I personally am committed to: we must support carers not only in the care that they do but to live their own lives, for which respite care is really important. As part of our reforms to social care, we are listening to carers and want to ensure that their needs are met.

[Kim Johnson]

In July 2019, the Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street and pledged to fix the broken social care system. Two years on, we are still waiting. There were only warm words in the Queen’s Speech a couple of weeks ago:

“Proposals on social care reform will be brought forward.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 11 May 2021; Vol. 812, c. 2.]

Can the Minister tell us when the Government will move from rhetoric and warm words and fix this broken system for the people she has just mentioned, who need it desperately?

[Helen Whately]

I welcome the hon. Member’s support for and interest in social care reform, along with others across the House. We know that social care reform is needed. We have rightly over the last year focused on supporting social care through the pandemic, getting £1.8 billion of extra funding for social care to the frontline and providing billions of items of PPE, over 100 million tests to social care and the vaccination programme to care home residents, those who receive social care and the workforce. We are working on our social care reforms and will bring those forward later this year.