Social Services: Lincolnshire
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire who have unmet care needs; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure those care needs are met.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
Long-term reform is needed in adult social care. We will work with the sector to build consensus for a National Care Service, based on consistent national standards, to support people to live independent and dignified lives.
In the interim, Care Quality Commission (CQC) local authority assessments consider the performance of the delivery of Care Act duties, including the timeliness of assessing care needs. If the CQC identifies that a local authority has failed or is failing its functions to an acceptable standard, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has powers to intervene. The CQC has published its first nine local authority ratings and reports.
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