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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Reforming adult social care in England

Status: Closed Opened: 13 Dec 2023 Closed: 28 May 2024 12 recommendations 15 conclusions 1 report

The Government promised to “fix the crisis in social care” in 2019. In June 2021, the Committee’s ‘Adult social care markets’ report found that the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) had poor oversight of the system, and seemed complacent about the risk of market failure. The report called for a long-term funding plan …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-Second Report - Reforming adult social care in Engla… HC 427 20 Mar 2024 27 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
15 Recommendation Twenty-Second Report - Reforming adult … Deferred

Fragmented, uncertain short-term funding stifles long-term planning and investment in adult social care.

We have reported before on the prevalence of short-term, one-off funding for local authorities and recommended that government explore ways to provide greater confidence over long-term funding.31 With regard to adult social care, this lack of financial certainty has constrained local authorities’ and providers’ ability to plan for the longer …

Government response. The government states the recommendation is implemented, explaining they are learning from reforms and monitoring funding impact to inform future spending review preparations. They commit to working with HM Treasury and DLUHC to ensure the next spending review delivers a …
HM Treasury
16 Recommendation Twenty-Second Report - Reforming adult … Deferred

Delayed local government finance settlement omits minimum wage provisions for councils.

We asked about the local government finance settlement for 2024–25, noting that the longer the settlement is delayed, the more difficult it is for local authorities to prepare their budgets. DLUHC told us that in 2022 it had set out a policy statement that outlined not only the settlement for …

Government response. The government states the recommendation is implemented, affirming its commitment to providing as much certainty as possible for local authorities through future spending reviews. They are learning from current reforms and monitoring funding to inform preparations for the next spending …
HM Treasury
17 Conclusion Twenty-Second Report - Reforming adult … Deferred

Multi-year funding settlement for adult social care remains uncertain for local government.

We challenged the Department on whether we were ever going to see a multi-year funding settlement for local government and if the extra money for adult social care in 2023–24 and 2024–25 would continue into future years. Both the Department and DLUHC acknowledged the benefits of multi-year funding but also …

Government response. The government agrees and recognizes the value of multi-year funding, noting the 2021 Spending Review provided three years of funding. However, it defers the decision on future multi-year settlements for adult social care, committing to work with relevant departments to …
HM Treasury
25 Recommendation Twenty-Second Report - Reforming adult … Deferred

Department lacks long-term funded plan and milestones for its social care vision

The NAO reported that the 2021 white paper set a 10-year ‘vision’ for transforming adult social care, but that the Department had no long-term funded plan for achieving it and no milestones beyond the end of the current Spending Review period, March

Government response. The government states the recommendation is implemented, highlighting progress towards the 10-year vision and learning from reforms to inform future plans. They commit to working with HM Treasury and DLUHC to ensure the next spending review delivers a sustainable long-term …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
24 Jan 2024 Catherine Frances · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michelle Dyson · Department for Education, Sir Chris Wormald · Department of Health and Social Care View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
19 Feb 2024 — Correspondence from Shona Dunn, Second Permanent Secretary, Department of Healt…
6 Feb 2024 — Public Accounts Committee hearing: Reforming Adult Social Care in England, 24 J…