Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will work with the care sector to establish a (a) National Care Agency to (i) set minimum standards of care and (ii) act as a regulator and (b) Royal College of Careworkers to (A) improve recognition, (B) deliver training and development and (C) ensure the highest professional standards.

We are launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of delivering a National Care Service and adult social care reform. The Secretary of State has invited representatives of the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Green Party to take part in cross-party talks on this to build consensus regarding the commission and what it will achieve. This will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families should expect from adult social care. The Commission will look at all aspects of the adult social care system, identifying the biggest challenges in adult social care and recommending practical changes to best meet the current and future needs of the population over the coming decades.