Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to adult social care.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing an individual’s eligibility for care and support as set out in the Care Act 2014 and where the individual is eligible for financial support, for meeting those needs. Where individuals are not eligible for financial support, local authorities will support them, should they require assistance, to make their own arrangements for care services.

The forthcoming Health and Care Bill will introduce the Department’s plans to develop an enhanced assurance framework to improve adult social care oversight across England. This includes a new duty for the Care Quality Commission to review and make an assessment of local authorities’ delivery of their adult social care duties to help drive quality and outcomes for care users.