Health and Social Care

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Tuesday 7th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do not think there is anything much inherited on the left, the right or the middle of this particular trio. Again, I find it extraordinary that the Scottish nationalist party would rather not have the Union dividend that this programme produces. The people of Scotland need to look at what is now being offered in terms of raising the thresholds for protection and helping people across the UK, and I hope that we can all move forward together.

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

I commend my right hon. Friend for keeping a promise that he made on the first day of his premiership and for his frankness about the difficulties of funding the challenges. There will be millions of hard-working families today looking at his proposals for the cap and floor and welcoming them. Can he confirm that the cap will cover all types of care—residential and domiciliary—and that, given that there is likely to be a need for more care workers, there will be up to £500 million as a training fund within the levy?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, who knows a great deal about this issue and the pressures that the sector faces. I can tell him that, yes, of course it covers both residential and domiciliary, and yes, there is a £500 million fund to help the caring profession, and we will provide 700,000 training places as a direct result of what we are doing today.