Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason cross-party talks on social care have not yet taken place.

We are committed to building a national, cross-party consensus to create a fair and affordable adult social care system for all. This is why we have asked Baroness Casey of Blackstock to lead an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards building a National Care Service.

As the commission is independent, Baroness Casey and her team are taking forward the arrangement of discussions with political parties.