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 impact of recovery action by local authorities for care charge debts on the well-being of social care users.

No specific assessment has been made. Each local authority is responsible for managing its debt recovery processes underpinned by the principles in the ‘Care and support statutory guidance’. This includes considering how different approaches might impact a person’s wellbeing. Local authorities also have a general duty to promote a person’s wellbeing and as such must consider whether debt has accrued due to factors outside of a person’s control. The statutory guidance offers recommendations of how local authorities should approach these cases.