Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 7 December (HL Deb, col 1197), what assessment they have made of the extent to which additional money made available to the NHS in the Autumn Budget will reduce pressures on the social care system; and how the impact of that additional money on that system will be effectively assessed and monitored.

At the spring Budget we announced an additional £2 billion will be given to councils over the next three years for social care. In total, we have given councils access to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years.

The autumn Budget has provided an additional £42 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant for the rest of the 2017-18 financial year, taking funding for this year to £473 million, supporting people on low-incomes to make home adaptations, to help them to live more independently for longer in their own homes.

The additional money made available in the autumn Budget will be directed to NHS services. The autumn Budget announced £2.8 billion of additional resource funding over 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 for the National Health Service in England for day to day spending, for example planned operations and emergency care. This will help it to get back on track to meet its performance targets on waiting times in accident and emergency and after patients are referred to treatment. It will ensure that more patients receive the care that they need more quickly. This includes £337 million this winter to help trusts to increase capacity. Of the £337 million winter fund, £150 million will fund NHS plans to deal with a winter surge and ensure sufficient capacity for elective treatment, with a further £50 million to follow. The autumn Budget also committed £3.5 billion of new capital investment by 2022/23 to transform its estate and drive further efficiency savings.