Coronavirus: Adult social care key issues and sources

Section one of the briefing provides a high-level overview of policy in relation to adult social care since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020, including the development of key UK Government guidance.

The second section provides more detailed information on some key issues that have been raised during the course of the outbreak, including:

• Statistics on deaths in care homes
• Funding for adult social care, including the financial pressures on social care providers
• Testing for care home staff and residents
• The discharging of patients from hospital into care homes
• Rules relating to visiting care homes for friends and family of residents
• The supply of PPE to the adult social care sector

The Commons Library Briefing paper, Coronavirus: Local authorities’ adult social care duties (the Care Act easements), provides an overview of changes to local authority duties around the provision of adult social care during the coronavirus outbreak. The changes were brought into force on 31 March 2020, under the Coronavirus Act 2020.