Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support social care providers in Newbury with changes to employer National Insurance contributions.

The Government took the cost pressures facing adult social care into account 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 up to £3.7 billion of additional funding available for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.

The additional funding available to West Berkshire in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 5.7% in cash terms.

Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.