Written question asked by Lord Myners (Crossbench) on Monday, 5 December 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 December 2016. It was answered by Lord Prior of Brampton (Conservative) on Thursday, 15 December 2016 on behalf of the Department of Health.
Four Seasons Health Care
- Question
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the debt levels of Four Seasons Health Care; whether they have any plans to intervene to protect the interests of patients; and whether they are able to require the company's private equity owner to invest new equity.
- Answer
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Adult social care is largely delivered through an independent sector of care provider organisations that operate in a competitive market. As with any market, some providers enter and exit, which is an important mechanism for driving up quality and effectiveness. Market exits are regular occurrences and are handled effectively by local government.
It is of course vital that vulnerable people with care needs do not have their services interrupted if their care provider failed financially and services stop. The Care Act 2014 introduced new duties on local authorities and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to protect and reassure people with care needs, their families and friends. The Act places a duty on all local authorities in England to temporarily step in and make sure all people in their area continue to have their needs met, regardless of who pays for their care. Recognising that local authorities might struggle if a significant provider were to fail, the CQC has a new function to oversee and monitor the financial sustainability of the largest and most difficult to replace providers. The oversight function provides an early warning to relevant local authorities in the event that one of these providers is likely to fail and their services cease.
Four Seasons Health Care is one of the providers that because of their size, is part of the CQC’s Market Oversight Scheme. CQC continues to monitor the finances of all of the providers in the scheme. Government has no powers to require a private company that is acting lawfully to change its financial approach.
The Care Act 2014 also places new duties on local authorities to promote their local market to ensure all service users have a choice of high quality services available.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- HL3810
- Session
- 2016-17
- Related items
- Subjects
- Debts Investment Patients Protection Private equity Four Seasons Health Care
- Contains statistics
- Yes
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2019-01-29 10:12:53 +0000
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- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2016-17/HL3810
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