Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to question UIN 9801, answered in June 2026, what proportion of the £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028-29 will be allocated to the provision of meals on wheels services.

The Government is making over £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. This includes additional grant funding, growth in other sources of income available to support adult social care, and an increase to the National Health Service contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund, in line with the Department’s Spending Review settlement.

The Government does not allocate a specific proportion of adult social care funding to meals on wheels services. Local authorities are responsible for how they use available funding to fulfil their duties under the Care Act 2014. The Government has radically simplified local authority funding for adult social care, giving councils more flexibility over the use of funding to deliver this government’s priorities for adult social care and respond to local need.

The Government has a longstanding commitment to provide funding to local authorities on a non-ringfenced basis. This supports effective and innovative financial management at the local level, giving local authorities the flexibility to make spending decisions based on local needs and priorities. This commitment underpins the Government’s wider approach to simplifying the funding landscape and reducing unnecessary controls and administrative burdens.