Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of legal protections against the (a) abuse and (b) neglect of older people.

Any form of elder abuse or neglect is unacceptable.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to investigate safeguarding concerns under the Care Act 2014. The statutory guidance of the Care Act 2014 makes it clear that local authorities must ensure that the services they commission are safe, effective, and of high quality. Since April 2023, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has had a duty to assess local authorities’ delivery of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014.