Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, why there is a delay between the annual uplift to Direct Payments rates taking effect on 1 April and the uprated rates being reflected in payments to recipients; what the average length of that delay has been in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to ensure that recipients receive the full benefit of annual uplifts promptly.

A direct payment is one way in which a person may receive their personal budget. Under the Care Act 2014, a personal budget must be sufficient to meet a person's eligible care and support needs. There is no annual uprating process for personal budgets or in effect, direct payments. It is for local authorities to review and revise personal budgets where changes in costs or circumstances affect their sufficiency. The Department does not collect data on the time taken by local authorities to make such revisions and therefore does not hold information on the average length of any delay. This responsibility rests with individual local authorities.