Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 November 2017, HCWS 258 on social care, if he will ensure that the reasons for delayed transfers of care relating to people affected by dementia are included as part of the proposed green paper.

The government has committed to publishing a Green Paper by summer recess 2018 presenting proposals to reform care and support for older people, and to a parallel programme of work, led jointly by the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government, which will focus on issues specific to working-age adults with care needs. Further details will be set out nearer the time.

Our vision for care must incorporate not only social care, but the wider networks of support which help people to live independently, including those with dementia.

We are clear that no-one, including people living with dementia, should have to stay in hospital longer than necessary, and we will put forward proposals in the Green Paper to ensure that our care and support system is sustainable in the long term and that people receive the services they need in the most appropriate setting for them.

We have made additional funding available of £2 billion over the next 3 years to allow councils to support more people and sustain a diverse care market. The additional funding is supplemented with targeted measures to help ensure that those areas facing the greatest challenges make rapid improvement, including in reducing delayed transfers of care between NHS and care and support services. Nationally, there are more than 1000 extra beds freed up since February, following local efforts by local authorities and the NHS to reduce delays in transfers of care. We are pleased that we have reversed the trend with delays back down to levels last seen in summer 2016. We know from those areas that have made improvements that maintaining a constant focus and applying an unswerving commitment to ensuring individuals receive the care they need in the right setting can rapidly bring down delayed transfers of care.