Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of involuntary care home moves on older people living with dementia; and what safeguards are in place to prevent inappropriate relocation of such residents.

The Department has no current plans to reform the residential care funding framework. The responsibility for meeting eligible needs rests with local authorities under the Care Act 2014. The Government is making over £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.

In terms of an assessment of the impact of involuntary care home moves on older people with dementia, the Care Act places a duty on local authorities to promote wellbeing when arranging social care for an individual, and this provides individuals and their carers with more control over the way in which care and support is provided.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how local authorities in England are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. If the CQC identifies that a local authority has failed or is failing to discharge its duties under the Care Act to an acceptable standard, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has powers to intervene.

The Independent Commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, is looking at the medium and long-term reforms needed in adult social care to deliver a fair and affordable system that is fit for the future, including looking at what long-term and sustainable funding solutions should look like.