Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with social care providers on the potential impact on them of the time taken to implement the fair cost of care policy.

The Department engaged with providers and local government prior to publishing the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care guidance in March 2022. We also funded the Care Provider Alliance to support providers and provide feedback on the Fair Cost of Care process.

The decision to delay the charging reforms has allowed us to provide local authorities with a further £3.2 billion, which we are reinvesting in social care through the Social Care Grant. This will support local authorities to improve adult social care, including addressing sustainability issues such as low fee rates.