Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the ability of local councils to fill vacancies in (a) social care and (b) refuse sectors; and what the cost per year is to local authorities of carrying vacancies in those sectors.

Local authorities work closely with providers in their local area to deliver social care, many aspects of which are provided by independent organisations and companies. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs leads on work relating to the refuse sectors.

The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England.