Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that providers of care are funded at a sustainable rate; and if he will make it his policy to implement the recommendations relating to care funding in the report by the Homecare Association, entitled the Homecare Deficit, published in March 2015.

Alistair Burt

The Government recognises the importance of maintaining a sustainable pool of independent social care providers to give people a choice of quality services.

The Government welcomes the United Kingdom Home Care Association’s report that was published earlier in the year which made an important contribution to our understanding of pressures in the adult social care system.

The overall allocation of funds to local government for adult social care that is funded by the state is being considered as part of the current spending review, and the Chancellor will make an announcement later in the month. The Government has taken into consideration demand and inflationary pressures. The Better Care Fund continues to provide additional funding to support integration between health and social care.

More broadly, the Department is enhancing its market stewardship activity, and will develop a national Market Position Statement to set government’s ambition for the market, and will also continue to work to make the market more effective, in particular, working with the smaller businesses that typify the sector.