Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the affordability of weekly care home fees.

Fee rates are set by providers of adult social care, the majority of which are in the independent sector. The Department does not have powers to set or recommend the level of fees that care homes charge. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.

We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will deliver recommendations for the transformation of adult social care including how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.