Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to support a) residential and b) nursing care homes.

We are making additional funding available for adult social care to support the sector in making improvements. Local authorities can use this additional funding for a range of investments including increasing the fee rates they pay to providers of adult social care via residential and nursing care homes. The total additional funding available for adult social care in 2026/27 compared to 2025/26 is over £1.6 billion, rising to over £4.6 billion in 2028/29.

The Department’s publication, Adult social care priorities for local authorities: 2026 to 2027, sets out priority outcomes and expectations for local authorities to help drive their delivery of the Government’s priorities for adult social care, including for local authorities to set fee rates at a sustainable level. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-social-care-priorities-for-local-authorities

We are also introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £10 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications. These changes will help attract staff to the sector, including to work in residential and nursing care homes, and will provide staff with proper recognition and opportunities to build their careers.

We are also supporting the Care Quality Commission to be a trusted partner, regulator and driver of standards across England for social care, underpinned by provider inspections and local authority assessments.