Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in National Insurance contributions on the affordability of social care in rural villages.

The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care overall in England as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. Overall, core local government spending power is increasing by 6% in cash terms.