Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the amount of income care users are allowed to keep after contributing towards their care costs by at least 10.1 per cent in line with inflation.

The Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) and Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) rates are reviewed annually. To allow people receiving means-tested support to keep more of their own income, both the MIG and PEA will increase in line with CPI inflation at 10.1% for the financial year 2023/24. This uprating aligns with the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement announcement that benefits will be uprated in line with CPI inflation. The revised rates were published in the 2023 Local Authority Circular on 9 February, which can be found at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-care-charging-for-local-authorities-2023-to-2024/social-care-charging-for-care-and-support-local-authority-circular-lacdhsc20231