Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department issues to local authorities on the level of fees charged by social care providers; and if he will make a statement.

The Care Act 2014 placed duties on local authorities to shape their local markets so that there is an adequate supply of provision which ensures all adult social care service users have a choice of high-quality services. In the case of state-funded care, local authorities negotiate with care providers to achieve a balance of quality, effectiveness and value for money for the public purse.

The level of fees charged to people who fund their own care is a private contractual matter.