Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the quality of nursing in private care homes.

In December 2022, we published the white paper ‘People at the Heart of Care’, which outlined the strategy for adult social care, supported by an investment of at least £500 million in the adult social care workforce over the next three years. This includes funding for registered nurses and nursing associates to access professional development opportunities to deliver outstanding care within care settings, including private care homes.

In 2020, the first Chief Nurse for Social Care was appointed to raise the profile of nursing in social care and increase the recognition, appreciation and quality of practice of nurses in adult social care.