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Personal Social Services
3. Helen Jackson (Sheffield, Hillsborough): What steps the Government are taking to improve the quality of personal social services. [115150]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Hutton): We are taking a range of measures to improve the quality of personal social services. Our quality protects programme is improving quality and consistency in children's services. The Care Standards Bill will establish a new independent regulatory system in residential care homes, so improving standards in care settings. Our new performance assessment system will, for the first time, provide a national benchmark by which we can measure change. We shall also be consulting in
the very near future on a quality strategy to plan a range of further steps that we wish to take in improving the quality of personal social services.
Helen Jackson: I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. I also welcome the commitment to extra resources that we heard last week in the Chancellor's statement. Does my hon. Friend agree that vulnerable citizens, whether they are elderly, children, physically or mentally disabled, need the assistance of personal social services, and that they, in particular, need to be treated as individuals? That requires a professionalism about the provision, whether it is delivered by the public, private or voluntary sector. In areas where there is a mixture, how will my hon. Friend ensure that those standards of quality and professionalism are delivered across the board in personal social services?
Mr. Hutton: I certainly agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of additional resources. She will be aware that we are increasing the total resources available to local authorities in England for personal social services spending at twice the rate of inflation. That is important. However, my hon. Friend is also right that it is not just a question of resources, which is why the Government have developed a new approach to raising the standards of care provided in social services departments. It is totally unacceptable that similar authorities have a completely different range of outcomes in relation to the services that they provide.
I also agree strongly with my hon. Friend about the need to improve the protection for vulnerable citizens against abuse. That is why last week we launched a new drive to protect vulnerable adults from the risk of abuse. It is a very serious problem, and we are determined to work with local authorities to provide better protection for our vulnerable citizens.
Mr. Julian Brazier (Canterbury):
I welcome the Minister's comments on protecting the vulnerable against abuse, but is he aware of the concern among nursing homes in East Kent caused by his "Fit for the Future?" document, especially some of its more bureaucratic provisions, which have been cited as the reason for the closure of one nursing home already? Is he further aware of the impact that the programme is likely to have on bed blocking in the acute hospital sector? Two of our three hospitals have this very week been closed for a while to new admissions.
Mr. Hutton:
Yes, I am aware of the concerns that he and other hon. Members from Kent have made about "Fit for the Future?" It is inappropriate to say that "Fit for the Future" is the reason why homes are closing, because it is not in operation yet and is unlikely to be so for several years to come. We are making it clear to care home providers that, whatever decisions we eventually make about the national minimum required standards, those standards will be fair, affordable and realistic. We have no intention of driving good care home providers out of the sector. Far from it, good care home providers have absolutely nothing to fear from "Fit for the Future?"
Student Nurses
5. Mr. Brian White (Milton Keynes, North-East): What steps he has taken to increase the number of student nurses. [115152]
The Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Alan Milburn): We have increased the number of nurse training places and we have increased pay for nurses and midwives. As a result, we have also increased the number of applicants for training. Last year, over 70 per cent. more people applied for nurse training courses.
Mr. White: I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Is he aware of a problem that a number of student nurses have brought to my attention? When they come back to training, they have an interaction with the benefits systems that cause them problems. One constituent was promised that she could continue to receive the working families tax credit, but when she became a student nurse, she found that she could not.
Mr. Milburn: I am aware of some of those problems. As my hon. Friend is aware, a review of the NHS bursary schemes through which student nurses are paid is under way. I can reassure my hon. Friend that the review is taking place not only inside the Department of Health, but in conjunction with our colleagues in the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.
Dr. Liam Fox (Woodspring): Can the Secretary of State tell us how much money the Government will save as a result of the decision to cut travel allowances for student nurses on clinical placement?
Mr. Milburn: I am not aware of the amount of money that we will save, but the investment that we are making in nurse training and in expanding the number of nurses in the NHS is good news for patients and good news for nurses, and stands in marked contrast to the cuts in nurse training places and in the number of nurses that we saw under the Conservative Government.
Dr. Fox: It is clear that the Secretary of State does not understand that his Department is cutting travel allowances for some of the poorest nurses currently on clinical placement. That is proving a great hardship. If the right hon. Gentleman had contacted the Royal College of Nursing, he would have been more aware of it.
The Secretary of State might know the answer to my next question because I gave him notice of it in the debate last week. It is clear that the Chancellor's announcement of 15,000 nurses was untrue. The Secretary of State talks about 10,000. Over what time scale will they be recruited? Will there be 10,000 whole-time nurse posts or 10,000 nurses in total, with some working part-time? If the number is 10,000 in total, how many full-time posts do the Government intend them to fill?
Mr. Milburn:
I have in front of me what the Chancellor told the House last Tuesday. He said two things. He said that, with the extra resources and the reforms that were still to come, we would be able to recruit at least 10,000 more nurses next year and the year after and that, as a consequence of the historic levels of
Dr. Fox:
Two questions; no answers. The Secretary of State does not know that he is cutting nurses' allowances, and he is unable to answer--for a second time--detailed questions that the RCN has put to him in writing. He betrays the fact that the Government are making it up as they go along. What a bunch of waffle.
When the new nurses join the NHS, which I welcome, they will find it packed by the Secretary of State with Labour placemen. They will find a twilight world of deceptions and bullying in which bed numbers have been cut by 9,000 since Labour came to power. They were told that all NHS units would be modernised--untrue. The Chancellor said that there would be 15,000 more nurses--untrue. The Prime Minister told the House that spending on the NHS would be 7.6 per cent. of gross domestic product--untrue. What sort of ethical signal does it send to those joining the NHS when those at the top cannot be trusted to tell the truth on any subject?
Mr. Milburn:
The hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends are becoming excited, so I shall leave some basic facts with them. From 1 April, an extra £600 million will go into the NHS--delivered by Labour, opposed by the Tories. The NHS will receive an extra £2 billion for the next financial year--delivered by Labour, opposed by the Tories. The NHS will receive an extra 6.3 per cent. in real terms over the next four years--delivered by Labour, opposed by the Tories. The NHS will receive an extra 50 per cent. in real terms over five years--delivered by Labour, opposed by the Tories. The truth is that the Tories are desperate to talk of spinning because they cannot match our spending. They have made their choice about the NHS, public spending and taxation policy--tax perks for the privileged, not a health service for the people.
6. Dr. Ian Gibson (Norwich, North):
What studies he has undertaken of the incidence of racism in mental health services. [115153]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Hutton):
Last year, the Department of Health and the Royal College of Psychiatrists jointly produced a detailed study into ethnicity and mental health. It recognised the problems of racism and set out practical solutions to problems identified in clinical practice. These have been reflected in the national service framework for mental health as we have sought to address specific needs of black and ethnic minority mental health service users.
Dr. Gibson:
I congratulate my hon. Friend. At last, a Government are taking mental health services seriously
Mr. Hutton:
My hon. Friend makes two points. First, we recognise the need to improve mental health services. That is why they are one of my Department's major priorities. We are introducing significant new reforms to mental health services, backed by significant new resources. Many people from black minority populations feel that they do not receive a fair deal from mental health services. Many parts of the national service framework try to address their concerns, including those on primary and non-institutional care, and that will benefit patients from black minority ethnic backgrounds.
Secondly, on David Bennett, we should all wish to express our regret about his death to his family. My hon. Friend will be aware that that death remains the subject of a police inquiry, and the coroner's inquest will not be held until the inquiry has been completed. Under those circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on that tragic incident.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham):
Has the Minister discussed his concern about racism in the provision of mental health services with the Home Secretary in the context of the recent Second Reading of the Race Relations (Amendment) Bill?
Mr. Hutton:
Yes, these matters are discussed across government. We must address that serious issue. There is a temptation among some Opposition Members--the hon. Gentleman may not have fallen into the trap--to pretend that there is no issue relating to black people's access to mental health services. We are determined to address problems, and we are doing so seriously. I hope the hon. Gentleman will be able to support us.
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