Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his oral contribution of 16 July 2020, Official Report, column 1795, what progress his Department has made on developing a support package for care homes with high rates of vacancies.

Following the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s statement of 16 July 2020 (Official Report, columns 1784-1786) outlining the Government’s ongoing work to support care homes with a high rate of vacancies, the Department has continued to review vacancy levels and the support on offer to care homes. As part of the Department’s continued commitment to supporting the social care sector during COVID-19 we will shortly be publishing our Adult Social Care Winter Plan. This plan sets out our strategy for providing national support to the sector over the winter period. Additionally, the Infection Control Fund is being extended until March 2021, providing a further £546 million for the care sector. This new investment underlines the Government’s commitment to ensuring that adult social care has the resources it needs over winter.