Treasury Committee publishes Government response on social care changes

The response follows a request from the Chair of the Treasury Committee, Rt. Hon. Mel Stride MP, for a regional and distributional analysis of the recent announcement of changes to adult social care charging.

In the letter, the Chair requested details on how many individuals the Government anticipates would be at risk of selling their home under the proposed changes, as well as an assessment of the policy’s impact split by household and individual income.

In the response, the Government acknowledges that it is unable to provide regional or individual assessments, as the funding at a local authority level has not yet been agreed. It outlines that a full impact assessment will be published in the new year.

Chair's comment

Commenting on the response, Rt. Hon. Mel Stride MP, Chair of the Treasury Committee, said:

“It is disappointing that the Government’s response to my request for an impact assessment on these changes was received so late in the day. The letter, which was sent half an hour before Parliament was set to vote on the changes last night, does not provide the full assessment requested.

“I have real concerns about the way these changes have been introduced and the Treasury Committee will continue to keep up the pressure on the Government to publish a full impact assessment as soon as possible.”

The correspondence follows an evidence session held on Thursday 18 November with Sir Andrew Dilnot, former Chairman of the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support, and Sally Warren, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund. The transcript of the session can be found here.

The hearing and correspondence forms part of the Committee’s inquiry into the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

Image: Unsplash