We contacted all of the candidates vying for your vote to be the next MP for the Wells and Mendip Hills constituency, asking each of them the same questions. We've taken their responses exactly as they were sent to us - so you know where each of the candidates stand, to help you decide who to vote for.

Here's their responses to the question:

What measures will you put in place to support the elderly and vulnerable populations in our community?

Meg Powell-Chandler - Conservative:

"I'm really concerned about rural isolation for older people, but heartened by the community that exists across Wells, Shepton, North Somerset, and the Mendips in villages and towns where people support the elderly and vulnerable with transport, shopping, company, and other things.

We have supported the elderly financially with the triple lock since 2011, which has increased the basic state pension by £3,700 since 2020 in cash terms. The Conservatives have committed to maintaining the triple lock whilst increasing the personal allowance to guarantee the state pension is always below a pensioner's tax-free threshold.

Access to health care is also vitally important for the elderly and more vulnerable, both getting the appointment and getting to the appointment. I would support the elderly and vulnerable by fighting for more GP appointments and supporting reliable public transport."

Craig Clarke - Independent:

"I ask the people of Wells and Shepton Mallet one question - you know health care services in your area are bad but please consider the residents of the constituency who do not have the community hospitals you have. In the Cheddar area, we have to take a bus to Weston General that takes one hour and is infrequent. The A & E Hospital is shut at weekends. It takes four weeks to get a doctor's appointment. Dentists have all gone private. It's a shambles so I have been asked by the people to build one new community hospital, like you have, in the Cheddar valley area - I hope that's ok with you as it will lessen our use of your hospitals, freeing up spaces for you."

Helen Hims - Reform UK:

"Our elderly deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. For over 20 years the main parties have failed miserably to tackle the issue of social care. Reform UK would:

Commence Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Social Care System: The sector needs flexibility, tax incentives, VAT breaks, and less waste. Simplifying the system through a single funding stream, not split between the NHS and local authorities, is essential. Additional funding will be required once the national plan is agreed.

Stop the Offshore Taxpayer Rip Off: Some larger care home providers are avoiding tax on hundreds of millions of profits through offshore company structures and high-interest shareholder loans. This must stop.

Exclude immigration limits and offer tax incentives to healthcare workers."

Abi McGuire - Independent:

"The provision of adult social care is broken. There is a lot of repetition, lack of timely and appropriate assessment and a reliance on agency staff and resources. These are expensive and do not provide a consistent and a well-thought-through package of care. There are significant savings that can be made here if we adopt a more proactive approach and reduce waste in repetition. We must nurture and support staff by drawing up long-term cross-party plans instead of relying on short-term and reactionary measures."

Tessa Munt - Liberal Democrats:

"The Conservatives have broken all their promises on social care, but it cannot go on being ignored. People should be able to get the care they need when they need it and it should be recognized that addressing social care is one of the keys to fixing the NHS.

Lib Dems have launched an ambitious plan to reform social care. We would introduce free personal care based on need, not ability to pay, ensuring no one must sell their home to pay for their personal care. We'd also introduce a National Care Agency to set minimum standards of care.

Careers in social care need to be more attractive, so we'd boost the minimum wage for care workers by £2 an hour, create career progression pathways, and a Royal College of Care Workers.

We will empower care users, and support care workers and the millions of unpaid carers looking after loved ones by increasing Carer's Allowance and expanding eligibility, introducing paid Carer's leave, and making caring a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

We'd also make it possible for people to transfer their care packages to a different location so they don't feel stuck where they are due to their care needs. This is particularly important for older or more vulnerable individuals who may want to be closer to loved ones."

Joe Joseph - Labour and Co-op:

"Social care provision needs to be linked to our wider healthcare policy. A first step will be to offer a fair pay deal for the social care sector. This is all part of our programme to make work pay and to address the recruitment and retention crisis in adult social care.

A longer-term solution will obviously take time and I expect will require consensus with other political parties, but we can't keep kicking this into the long grass because the system doesn't work."

Peter Welsh- Green Party:

No response was received.

How do you plan to address the challenges faced by social care provision in our constituency?

Meg Powell-Chandler - Conservative:

"I support the proposal included in the Conservative manifesto to offer local authorities a clear, multi-year settlement to support social care so they can plan better.

We will cap costs for personal care at £86,000 over someone's lifetime; raise the capital allowance above which people need to contribute to their care from £23,250 to £100,000 and increase the lower threshold, below which people do not need to contribute any care costs, from £14,250 to £20,000."

Craig Clarke - Independent:

"I ask the people of Wells and Shepton Mallet one question - you know health care services in your area are bad but please consider the residents of the constituency who do not have the community hospitals you have. In the Cheddar area, we have to take a bus to Weston General that takes one hour and is infrequent. The A & E Hospital is shut at weekends. It takes four weeks to get a doctor's appointment. Dentists have all gone private. It's a shambles so I have been asked by the people to build one new community hospital, like you have, in the Cheddar valley area - I hope that's ok with you as it will lessen our use of your hospitals, freeing up spaces for you."

Helen Hims - Reform UK:

"Commence Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Social Care System: The sector needs flexibility, tax incentives, VAT breaks, and less waste. Simplifying the system through a single funding stream, not split between the NHS and local authorities, is essential. Additional funding will be required once the national plan is agreed.

Stop the Offshore Taxpayer Rip Off: Some larger care home providers are avoiding tax on hundreds of millions of profits through offshore company structures and high-interest shareholder loans. This must stop."

Abi McGuire - Independent:

"I am extremely experienced across the health and social care sector having worked in the NHS, social services, education, and housing. I will work both in parliament and alongside the constituencies' two unitary authorities to deliver services that are both cost-effective and high-quality across the health and social care sector. We must work collaboratively and cross-party to address these challenges."

Tessa Munt - Liberal Democrats: "We have to overhaul the care system and the Lib Dems have a plan for this, some of which I've set out above. While the bills the Council are paying for social care are increasing exponentially, the existing model doesn't work and it leaves too many people without the care they need.

It's particularly difficult to access social care in rural areas. Lib Dem plans to reform social care would support the recruitment and retention of care workers, including by creating a workforce plan for social care which would consider the planning needed for rural areas.

Care workers often have to cover their own travel costs and this can be a further barrier to becoming a care worker in rural areas. We would expand Rural Fuel Duty Relief, putting us on a more equal footing to larger towns and cities for attracting the necessary workforce."

Joe Joseph - Labour and Co-op:

"Social care provision needs to be linked to our wider healthcare policy. A first step will be to offer a fair pay deal for the social care sector. This is all part of our programme to make work pay and to address the recruitment and retention crisis in adult social care.

A longer-term solution will obviously take time and I expect will require consensus with other political parties, but we can't keep kicking this into the long grass because the system doesn't work."

Peter Welsh- Green Party:

No response was received.