Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transferring adult social care responsibilities from Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to Torbay Council on the workforce.

The Care Act 2014 sets out how adult social care in England should be provided, including legal duties on local authorities to ensure the care workforce is competent, skilled, and safe.

Whilst we have not made a direct assessment of the potential impact transferring adult social care responsibilities from the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to Torbay Council will have on the workforce, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has a duty under the Health and Care Act 2022 to assess local authorities’ delivery of their adult social care duties. Torbay was assessed in December 2025, and their report is available at the following link:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports/torbay-1225

In April 2026, the CQC published an updated approach to how they assess local authorities, moving more towards a flexible, risk-based approach which will support them to respond proportionately to the circumstances in each local area. If the CQC identifies that a local authority has failed or is failing to discharge its duties under the Care Act to an acceptable standard, it has a duty to inform my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who has powers to intervene.