Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the additional £880 million allocated to the Social Care Grant.

The £880 million uplift in the Social Care Grant is in recognition of the important role local authorities have in commissioning and delivering social care services. This funding will support social care delivery and will take the total funding in the Social Care Grant to £5.9 billion in 2025/26.

This additional funding forms one part of a wider increase in local government funding, with up to £3.7 billion of additional funding being made available for social care authorities in 2025-26. Overall, the Government is providing an increase to core local government spending power in 2025/26 of 6% in cash terms.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for ensuring the adequacy of local government budgets. The Department of Health and Social Care will continue working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, local authorities, and the adult social care sector to understand what the impact of cost and demand pressures will be on service delivery and budgets.