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 support elderly people with the cost of care.

The adult social care system is means tested and provides funded support for those with the least financial means. While the Department sets the minimum thresholds for accessing local authority support, local authorities have the discretion to set more generous thresholds if they choose.

We have heard from many families who have been impacted by high and unpredictable care costs, and we recognise their frustration at the situation in which they find themselves.

The Government has launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The terms of reference are sufficiently broad to enable the commission to consider the affordability of care costs.