Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to update the terms of reference for the independent commission into adult social care to include the level of spending on palliative care within the NHS.

The independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock, commenced its work in April. The Terms of Reference have been published and are designed to be sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future.

The Terms of Reference are clear that recommendations should be considered within the context of the ongoing National Health Service reforms and, in phase 1, should focus on how to get adult social care working more closely with the NHS. Baroness Casey will do this by considering the existing funding for local authority adult social care services together with NHS funding for services at the interface of health and care and whether they are being best used.