Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the work his Department commissioned from the Adult Social Care Research Unit on updating the 2013 Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula.

The Department of Health and Social Care funds independent research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). This project is funded through the NIHR Adult Social Care Policy Research Unit.

The publication of research is led by the research team and in line with NIHR commitments to the transparent and independent publication of high-quality research will be made available on the Adult Social Care Policy Research Unit Website. The views expressed in outputs of the research are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Department of Health and Social Care is still considering this research as part of its ongoing policy work. We are working closely the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the role of a specific Adult Social Care funding formula is considered within the consultation ‘Local authority funding reform: objectives and principles’, published on 18 December 2024. We will update further in due course.