Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025 to Question 29991 on Independent Commission into Adult Social Care, what his planned timetable is for responding to the 2028 Phase 2 report; and whether he plans that social care reforms will be (a) legislated for and (b) delivered in this Parliament.

Chaired by Baroness Casey, the Independent Commission on adult social care will be undertaken in two phases. Phase one, reporting in 2026, will identify the biggest challenges in adult social care and recommend practical changes to improve people’s lives over the next decade. Phase two, reporting by 2028, will make longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care, addressing demographic change, how services should be organised to deliver this, and how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.

The Government will consider and respond to the commission’s recommendations, including any legislative implications, when it reports. The Government recognises the pivotal role adult social care plays in nurturing local communities and helping people live as independent and fulfilling lives as possible.