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 merits of providing free homecare.

Local authorities (LAs) have the power to charge for care, and it is for them to decide whether to do so. Two LAs in England currently offer free home care to their residents.

Where LAs do choose to charge for care, they must do so in accordance with the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, and they must act under the Care and Support Statutory guidance.

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, which began work in April 2025, will be comprehensive and will build on the expert proposals of other reviews, including that of Sir Andrew Dilnot into care funding and support. It will be broader and wider than ever before, asking essential questions about the shape and future of the social care sector, including what long-term and sustainable funding solutions should look like.