Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations in the report by the Local Government Association, Adult social care funding: State of the nation 2017.

The Government has taken note of the report by the Local Government Association, Adult social care funding: State of the nation 2017, which calls for additional funding for social care, an effective response to tackling delayed transfers of care and increased integration between local government and the local National Health Service.

The Budget in March 2017 announced an additional £2 billion to be given to councils over the next three years for social care. This additional funding means that councils have access to £9.25 billion in total more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years.

Reducing pressures on the NHS, including supporting more people to be discharged from hospital when they are ready, is one of the three purposes of the £2 billion provided in the Spring Budget. This is, of course, a shared endeavour between councils and the different parts of the local NHS. Everyone must do their part.

The Better Care Fund (BCF) has set the foundation to integrate health and social care, but the Government wants to deliver joined up care further and faster. Relevant areas will be notified in due course whether they will be shortlisted with a view to becoming a ‘graduate’ within the BCF once they have demonstrated that they have moved beyond the requirements of BCF reporting and are exemplars of integration.

The Government has set out plans to publish a Green Paper by summer 2018 presenting its proposals to reform care and support for older people.