Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to support the social care workforce in the People at the Heart of Care White Paper in December 2021 compared to the Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care report in March 2023.

In the People at the Heart of Care white paper, the Government allocated at least £500 million to transform the way we support and develop the workforce. In Next Steps to put People at the Heart of Care, we set out plans to invest £250 million in the workforce over the next two years.

The Government is also considering how best to use an additional £600 million of funding, including further investment in the workforce, and we will target this remaining funding on measures that will have the most impact.