Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of changes to social care funding on the mental health of social care recipients.

Social care is vital to enable people to live healthy and independent lives. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances; we have taken steps to protect social care services.

At the spring budget we announced an additional £2 billion will be given to councils over the next three years for social care from 2017/18.

In total, we have given councils access to £9.4 billion more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years from 2017/18. More recently the Local Government Finance settlement announced a further £150 million for social care.

The Government has set out plans to publish a Green Paper by summer 2018 presenting its proposals to reform care and support.

More broadly, the Care Act 2014 creates a ‘well-being principle’ to underpin the care and support system, meaning that people’s well-being, and the outcomes which matter to them will be at the heart of every decision that is made – this applies equally to carers.

Overall spend on mental health was £11.6 billion last year. We are also making available £1.4 billion on children and young people's mental health and eating disorders over the course of this Parliament. In January 2016, we announced an additional £1 billion over the five years to 2021 to improve mental health liaison services in accident and emergency, 24/7 crisis care and home treatment teams, and perinatal mental health, with this funding starting to hit the National Health Service front line from last April.