PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Care Homes: Brexit (27 September 2019)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of (a) nursing homes and (b) other social care providers have complied with his advice on contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU; and what discussions officials of his Department have had with providers that have not complied with that advice.

Asked by:
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour)

The primary responsibility for ensuring continuity in the provision of adult social care – and for supporting providers to take the necessary steps to prepare for European Union exit on 31 October - lies with local authorities. The Government recognises the additional pressure that EU exit could place on providers and local authorities. That is why we have taken steps, nationally, to ensure all registered providers have the advice and support they need to make their preparations.

We are working closely with the Care Providers Alliance, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Care Quality Commission to support local authorities and care providers to ensure that contingency plans are in place and are as robust as possible, including through regular monitoring of local-level intelligence. We are strengthening further our communication to providers and local authorities about the preparations they need to make. We are also assessing the robustness of the supply chain for non-clinical consumables for the adult social care sector to identify and enable us to act on any particular weaknesses.

Answered by:
Dame Caroline Dinenage (Conservative)
2 October 2019