Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial strength of the companies in charge of the majority of elderly care homes.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the financial health of the largest and most difficult-to-replace adult social care providers through their Market Oversight Scheme. Under the scheme, they have a duty to notify local authorities if they consider that a provider’s services are likely to be disrupted because of business failure. This allows local authorities time to step in and ensure that people continue to receive the services they need. As a minimum, all providers in the Market Oversight Scheme are required to provide the CQC with financial information on a quarterly basis. However, where the CQC perceives a greater risk to continuity of care, more regular engagement is undertaken.

We recognise the pressures that all parts of the sector are facing, and we have provided councils with £1.6 billion funding in March to help local authorities deal with the immediate impacts of COVID-19. On top of this, on 18 April the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support local authorities delivering essential frontline services.