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 potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals similar to those set out in the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.

No assessment has been made. The Government is implementing its own reform programme of adult social care with a 10 year vision that puts people at heart of adult social care. The Health & Care Act 2022 provides the relevant legislation for our plans for data, assurance and integration.

We have made good progress on reform by increasing sector digitisation, developing our approach for assurance of local authorities, and enhancing the collection and use of data. In spring 2023, we will publish a plan setting out how we will build on this progress.

The Department meets regularly with officials in the Devolved Administrations to explore how we can learn from our different approaches to adult social care reform.