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 establish a National Care Agency to (a) set minimum standards of care and (b) maintain a national register of care workers.

The Government is committed to a well-supported adult social care workforce who are recognised as the professionals they are. Enhancing the skills of staff working in adult social care is vital to ensuring that the care provided is of good quality, fair, personalised, and accessible. Promoting opportunities to develop skills and knowledge is essential to raising the status of adult social care as a career. We have expanded the first ever national career structure for adult social care, the Care Workforce Pathway, adding new roles and clear career pathways. Backed by £12 million for training through the Learning and Development Support Scheme, this supports staff development and recognises the vital work care professionals do.

The Government is committed to transforming adult social care to create a National Care Service and to improving the lives of people drawing on care, unpaid carers, and the social care workforce. We have also launched an independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Casey, as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission's Terms of Reference are sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to define its remit and to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future.