Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of planned reductions in social care budgets for 2015–16 on local authorities and social care providers.

The Department monitors local authority budget data and expenditure on adult social care as routine. We will continue to work closely with local government and providers to understand current and future funding requirements to support decisions relating to the upcoming Spending Review.

This year, the Better Care Fund will provide £5.3 billion of investment in better integrated care, based on joint plans that have been developed locally and putting resources where the local NHS and social services think it is needed. Social care protection is a national condition of the Better Care Fund.