Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make additional support available to care homes as a result of increasing insurance premiums and mortgage costs.

We recognise that the adult social care sector is facing significant pressures in light of the pandemic and we are working closely across Government and with care providers to better understand the impact of cost increases across the sector. We have already made £4.6 billion of support available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care. In addition, we have made £1.1 billion available to social care, the majority for care homes, to support them with additional infection prevention and control costs related to Covid-19, and a further £149 million to help with additional costs of testing

As part of the 2020 Spending Review, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government will provide councils with access to an additional £1 billion for social care next year and we also expect to provide them with estimated funding of around £3 billion to help manage the impact of COVID-19 across their services, including in adult social care and to compensate for income losses.