Today in the chamber, Huw asked a question to the Secretary of State for Health about the possibility of political parties working together to ensure meaningful reform to the Health and Social Care system. You can watch Huw's question here: https://goo.gl/LPe6PM and read the correspondence below.

Huw: 

What progress his Department is making on reforming the provision of social care. 

Mr Hunt: 

This afternoon I will make a speech setting out the principles with which we will approach the social care Green paper, including a focus on the highest standards of care, integration of the health and social care system and developing a long-term sustainable funding solution.

Huw:

Given that the arithmetic of this place is so tight, it is clear that there will need to be some form of cross-party consensus for any meaningful reform. Given that the Opposition appear to favour a wealth tax and our party has mooted the idea of individuals paying more for their own care, surely cross-party consensus is within reach; what is the Secretary of State’s view on that?

Mr Hunt:

My hon. Friend always speaks very thoughtfully on this matter, and it is important, because social care issues will continue for decades ahead unless we find a solution and both parties will have to deal with this issue in government. In truth, both parties have made things worse by politicking in the past, whether by discussion about a death tax in 2009 or a dementia tax in 2017.