Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that the forthcoming Green Paper on Social Care will include greater (a) support for carers and (b) funding and other support for the social care system to meet increasing demand in terms of complexity of care requirements and overall demand.

Carers are vital partners in the health and social care system, and they need to be at the heart of discussions on a sustainable settlement for social care. The Green Paper will include a focus on carers and how society supports them.

Social care continues to be a key priority for this Government. In addition to the £2 billion announced at Spring Budget 2017, we have announced a further £150 million for 2018/19, giving councils access to up to £9.4 billion more dedicated funding for adult social care in total over three years.

An ageing society means that we need to reach a longer-term sustainable settlement for social care. That is why the Government has committed to publishing a Green Paper by autumn 2018 setting out our proposals for reform.