Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he made an assessment of the future additional annual costs to the public purse in the event that the judgment in the Supreme Court case of Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake, UKSC 2018/0160, was decided in favour of Tomlinson-Blake.

In advance of the Supreme Court’s decision in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake, UKSC 2018/0160, the Government took steps to consult with affected stakeholders and prepare for various possible outcomes. An assessment of future annual additional costs to the public purse in the event of a judgement in favour of Tomlinson-Blake would have required information about the present and future remuneration of care workers, which is set independently by private sector providers and the degree to which local authorities would reflect any increases in the fees they pay care providers, taking account of local market conditions. This information was not available ahead of the judgement.