THE care services minister has been quizzed by Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, on what more the government can do to provide for people with lower level needs through social care.

Mrs Brooke pressed the government to do more in the short term, not only to address the current crisis in funding, but also to cater for those in society with lower level needs through preventive measures and also early intervention.

Minister Paul Burstow agreed with MP Brooke that there was a need to invest in early intervention and prevention.

He said in addition to the £7.2billion that the government will already invest this parliamentary year, in January it announced an extra £120m for the remainder of the year to support care services.

Mrs Brooke said: “I welcome the investments the government are making in social care.

“I will continue to press them to ensure that their funding is used efficiently and innovatively in our local area.”