Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the NHS of the number of contracts being handed back to local authorities by the providers of publicly-funded adult social care; and whether that issue is on the Department of Health's risk register.

The Department does not collect detailed information about local contracting.

Commissioning high quality social care is the responsibility of local government, who are best placed to understand the needs of local people and communities and how best to meet them.

The Government does not release internal risk registers. The Department has worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, Local Government Association, the care sector and other partners to produce a wide range of guidance and support about market shaping and commissioning and contingency planning. We have brought this together in an online hub called Adult Social Care Market Shaping, which is an online-only resource widely available to people and organisations, including local authorities, service users, and care providers.

Where a care provider ‘hands back’ a contract to a local authority, the authority remains responsible for meeting the needs of people who previously had services provided under the contract and for arranging replacement services. Where a care provider fails financially and services cease, potentially abruptly, the local authority has Care Act duties to step in and ensure people’s needs continue to be met, regardless of who pays.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of impact on the National Health Service. The NHS has comprehensive plans for winter, with preparations starting earlier than ever before. This included a thorough assessment by NHS England of winter readiness of each system across the country.