The social care green paper has been delayed once again and will now be published at the first opportunity in 2019, the Government has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health & Social Care told the Local Government Channel (LGC) that proposals will be published as soon as possible.

The green paper was initially announced by Phillip Hammond in the 2017 March Budget and planned for the following autumn.

In November 2017, the Government announced its intention to publish the green paper in the summer, but this deadline was pushed backed to autumn 2018 before a further delay this year.

The Government has made funding available since the original announcement of the green paper, most recently an additional £240m boost announced in October for 2018-19.