Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Local Government Association press release, entitled £2.6 billion could be needed to fix social care, published on 13 October 2016, what steps he is taking to reduce the funding gap in social care.

Social care is a means tested service. The Care Act 2014 requires that local authorities must assess any adult who appears to have a care and support need. Where a person has needs which do not meet the national eligibility criteria, as set out in the Care Act, their local authority must provide the person with information and advice on what support is available in the community to meet those needs.

The Autumn 2015 Spending Review announced that local authorities who are responsible for social care would have the ability to raise additional funding to spend exclusively on adult social care. If all local authorities use this to its maximum effect it could raise nearly £2 billion a year by 2019-20. 95% of local authorities have taken up the precept in 2016-17, raising £382 million extra for social care this year, in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast. In addition from 2017 the Spending Review made available new funds for social care services, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20. This will be made available to local authorities directly and is to be included in an improved Better Care Fund.