Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of COVID-19 of the financial sustainability of (1) the for-profit care home sector, and (2) care homes operated by charities.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the financial health of the largest and most difficult-to-replace adult social care providers through its Market Oversight Scheme. The scheme covers both commercial providers and charities. Under the scheme, the CQC has 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 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 provided local authorities with £1.6 billion funding in March to help them 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 (Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP) announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support local authorities delivering essential frontline services.

On 13 May we announced an additional £600 million for an Infection Control Fund for Adult Social Care. This funding is to support adult social care providers in England reduce the rate of transmission in and between care homes and to support workforce resilience.