Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed increase in secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions to 15% on (a) care provider employees, (b) the contribution of the care sector to the economy and (c) the future long-term funding settlement for adult social care.

The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024. 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 which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.

The Casey Commission will make longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care, and how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.