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Residential Homes
14. Ms Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on registration and inspection procedures for nursing and residential homes. [15798]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: A project is under way to produce national standards for the inspection and registration of nursing homes to assist health boards in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities. A Scottish Office working group is also reviewing registration and inspection procedures for residential homes, and will be reporting shortly.
Ms Squire: What specific action does the Minister intend, and what additional resources will he provide, to ensure that vigorous and effective inspection procedures have been established by 1 April, when the new councils come into effect? Will he encourage all councils and, indeed, health boards to follow Fife's example, and establish joint inspection units dealing with both residential and nursing homes?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The Scottish Office and health board general managers working groups are
considering the possibility of joint registration of establishments. We give guidance to local authorities, including guidance to enable them to fulfil responsibilities. As for resources, I am glad to report that more than £265 million has been allocated for spending on residential and nursing homes in 1996-97, and that an additional £39.5 million will be added to the DSS transfer to local authorities for the continuation of community care responsibilities. The total is expected to be around £300 million, most of which is expected to be spent on the residential sector.
Mr. Dalyell: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker: Order. Points of order are dealt with after statements.
Millennium Exhibition
3.31 pm
The Secretary of State for National Heritage (Mrs. Virginia Bottomley): With permission, Madam Speaker, I should like to make a statement to the House about the millennium exhibition.
The Millennium Commission, of which I am chairman, announced this morning its preference to hold an exhibition, based on the theme of time, on the Greenwich peninsula in the year 2000. Following consultation, the commission announced last year its aspirations for a national exhibition to provide the focus for the celebrations of the year 2000. The commission believed that there should be a single shared experience for the whole nation as we move into the 21st century, and that we should celebrate our achievements, abilities and potential as a nation.
The commission, with only grant-giving powers, needed to identify a location and an organisation capable of producing an event that would meet the commission's aspirations and justify the expenditure of lottery money. The commission therefore conducted two separate competitive processes, to identify the potential site and the potential operator. In January, it announced that it had decided not to proceed with the Derby or Stratford sites, and that it had asked Imagination Group Ltd. to develop further its proposals for the exhibition, to enable the commission to make a fully informed choice between the two remaining sites--the national exhibition centre and the Greenwich peninsula. Today's announcement by the commission takes the process closer to a firm commitment to finance an exhibition.
The commission was impressed by the NEC's potential: it was at the heart of the country, was well networked and had a sound operational track record. The strength of local support and the dedication and commitment of the team greatly impressed the commission; I pay tribute to that. The commission decided, however, that Greenwich offered the greatest potential as the site for an exhibition that would meet the commission's aspirations, allowing more people to see a more exciting presentation of the exhibition theme based on time. The chosen site is on the prime meridian, and the Imagination proposals for Greenwich feature "The Circle of Time", adding a potential dramatic landmark.
Moreover, the Greenwich peninsula could enable the commission to deliver a substantial legacy by regenerating an important part of south London through a potential permanent entertainment and leisure development, together with residential and retail space. It could also stimulate the further regeneration of the remaining British Gas landholding on the peninsula. That would represent excellent value for grant.
I stress that the celebration will not be confined to Greenwich; there will be a nationwide programme. The programme organisation will begin later this year. In 1997, we will see the development of a series of regional centres to shape the content of the exhibition. Artistic, scientific, historical and sporting components will be incorporated into the millennium exhibition. In 2000, each region will own a week in the millennium exhibition programme and will deliver its vision of the new millennium. The exhibition will be presented in 12 themed pavilions, each focusing on a different
interpretation of time--such as "Action Time" and "Past Time"--with parallel entertainment, education and activity programmes.
The commission is inviting Sir Peter Levene to examine the work completed to date and the work that Imagination, British Gas and English Partnerships are undertaking, and to provide advice to the commission by its May meeting as to whether a sound and commercially viable proposal is deliverable. If so, the commission expects to confirm the grant, partnership funding, planning and other implementational issues by September. British Gas will now proceed with site decontamination and preparation works on the Greenwich peninsula.
For the first time, the commission has made public its financial commitment to the exhibition--in principle, it is willing to commit up to £200 million in lottery grant to the exhibition, and the remaining capital and operating costs will be raised from other sources. The commission stressed that the exhibition depends on the private sector to deliver its full potential. The commission will need to be fully satisfied of the viability of the whole project, including the firm commitment of private sector support, before confirming its grant decision.
The exhibition is the single most significant event to be funded by the national lottery. The lottery is already helping to regenerate the cultural fabric of the country, providing financial assistance to projects that develop social cohesion by bringing people together to participate in sport, the arts and heritage projects. It is changing the landscape for community involvement.
With a project of this scale, it is inevitable that there will be implications for Government. In order to ensure that the Government's participation is well planned and co-ordinated, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has today announced that he has asked my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister to convene a ministerial group that will have the task of overseeing the Government's role and taking forward the necessary planning of any Government involvement in this event.
This unique opportunity to stage the millennium exhibition would not be possible without the contribution from the national lottery, which has already brought benefits to people across the country. It provides the means by which the dreams and aspirations of the people can find their realisation. Future generations will look back on the millennium exhibition as the time and the place when the United Kingdom showed the world just what we can achieve, working together as a nation to leave a truly lasting legacy for the future.
Dr. John Cunningham (Copeland):
The right hon. Lady has made an important statement about one of the largest projects that we shall see in Britain over the coming years. She and her fellow commissioners had the unenviable task of deciding between the merits of excellent proposals from competing cities. There are natural and understandable disappointments as a result of the decision, particularly in Birmingham and throughout the west midlands.
A decision has at last been taken--after a somewhat extended and perhaps even byzantine process--during which time those hoping to host the exhibition could not discuss their proposals with those hoping to operate it, and vice versa. I am sure that hon. Members would like to know why that convoluted process was introduced.
Today the right hon. Lady has made it clear to hon. Members that there is still no certainty that a viable project has emerged. It might be described as a chronicle of wasted time. However, many people share the view that Greenwich is an appropriate choice for the home of the exhibition, as the meridian has been used as the basis of international time reckoning for over 100 years.
May I make it clear to the Secretary of State that we recognise the huge potential of the millennium exhibition, not simply for Greenwich or even London, but nationally and internationally? It will be of key importance for Britain and for our economy, directly through tourism and, indirectly as a shop window for Britain, especially as Britain's and London's cultural, creative and innovative industries will have an opportunity to develop further there.
Which Ministers and Government Departments will be represented on the proposed ministerial group that the right hon. Lady mentioned? What co-ordination will take place between those Departments? What will be the relationship of that group with the Millennium Commission? Is the group taking charge of the project rather than the commission? If so, that makes it a political matter, when the purpose of the commission was to establish a non-party political approach to what was being proposed. Is not it, to say the least, curious that the Deputy Prime Minister is to chair that ministerial group, rather than the right hon. Lady? What is the explanation for that?
I must express our best wishes to Councillor Len Duval, his team in Greenwich and Greenwich Millennium Trust, on their success in winning this project. How will the Government respond to the trust's proposal that a guarantee should be given that the Jubilee line will be operational at the time of the exhibition, that a river boat service from central London to Greenwich will be provided and that there will be a connection between Greenwich and the British Rail network, perhaps by the construction of a tramway system?
Is not the proposal that the millennium exhibition site be a car-free zone very appropriate in the circumstances? But is not it essential that those public transport infrastructure developments are completed and operational in time? If that is not so, is not the right hon. Lady's claim that this will be a truly national exhibition likely not to be fulfilled as we would all wish it to be?
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