Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a ring-fenced fund to support the provision of local authority social care.

The Spending Review provides local authorities with an additional £1.6 billion of grant funding in each of the next three years. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022/23 confirmed that local authorities will have access to over £1 billion of additional resources next year specifically for social care. Ultimately, it is for local authorities to manage their budgets within the funding available and prioritise spending based on their own understanding of the needs of their local communities.