Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee

Conclusion 26

Ninth report - Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic Published 6 Jan 2022 Paragraph 112 Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We have heard much about how a robust social care system that can support hospital discharges and free up capacity is essential to clear the backlog. We welcome the inclusion of the social care workforce in the refreshed Framework 15. Social care, however, did not receive an adequate settlement in the spending review, with the £5.4 billion over three years falling well short of the £7 billion annual increase we have previously recommended. Even after the spending review period, there 38 Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic is no guarantee of additional funding from the Health and Social Care Levy, so we remain very concerned that social care will remain the poor relation. Without the right support for social care, a recovery plan for the NHS is doomed to failure.

From: Health and Social Care Committee, Ninth report - Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic (HC 599), paragraph 112, 6 January 2022

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 25 May 2022 (deadline 6 March 2022).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government's response to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's report on clearing the pandemic backlog sets out how it is working with its arm's length bodies to help the NHS clear the elective care waiting list.

  • The response is to the Committee's ninth report of session 2021-22, 'Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic'.
  • It was published by the Department of Health and Social Care on 12 May 2022, with an accessible HTML version added on 17 May 2022.
  • The page summary does not state which recommendations the government accepts or disagrees with, or give specific commitments or dates. Readers should consult the full 34-page response for these.

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