Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of people waiting for an adult social care assessment.

We recognise there are challenges in adult social care, with some people waiting too long for a care assessment. There are long-term reforms needed in social care and we will work with the sector to build consensus for the reforms needed to create a sustainable care system. We are committed to building a National Care Service based on consistent national standards to support people in living independent and dignified lives.

In the interim, Care Quality Commission (CQC) local authority assessments consider the performance of the delivery of Care Act duties, including the timeliness of assessing care needs. Local authorities are required to submit their waiting list size, median, and maximum waiting times as part of this process. If the CQC identifies that a local authority has failed or is failing its functions to an acceptable standard, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has powers to intervene. The CQC has published its first nine local authority ratings and reports.