Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many regulated care home providers have handed back contracts to local authorities in each of the last three years.

The Government does not collect information on how many regulated care home providers have handed back contracts to local authorities.

Commissioning high quality social care is a matter for local authorities who are best placed to understand the needs of local people and communities, and how best to meet them.

The Department published statutory guidance for the Care Act to support local authorities in their market shaping duties to ensure a healthy market.