Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they taking to ensure that local councils in England are able to meet their statutory duties to provide adult social care for 2025–26,  in accordance with the Care Act 2014; and what discussions they have had with the Local Government Association about this matter.

The Government has made up to £8.6 billion available in additional funding over 2023/24 and 2024/25, to support adult social care and discharge. This funding has enabled local authorities to buy more care packages, helped people leave hospital on time, improved workforce recruitment and retention, and reduced waiting times for care. The Government regularly meets with the Local Government Association and other representatives from the sector, to understand the pressures facing them.

Funding plans for 2025/26 will be developed as part of the next Spending Review. We will continue to work closely with local authorities and the adult social care sector to understand what the impact of cost and demand pressures will be on service delivery, and to support them in responding to these pressures.