Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many civil servants in his Department are working on the Independent commission into adult social care; whether any (a) Commissioners and (b) other external appointees have been (i) appointed and (ii) assigned to support the work of the Commission; and what the budget for the Commission is in the current financial year.

There is a total of ten officials assigned to work on the Independent Commission into adult social care (the Commission). Eight are employed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and two by the Cabinet Office. There are a further four officials working in the Commission’s sponsorship function based in DHSC.

There are currently no Commissioners appointed, and one external individual has been hired as contingent labour to support the work of the Commission.

As the Commission is independent, the secretariat may expand as it carries out its work, and as Baroness Casey considers what further skills and expertise she needs.