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Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the local authorities which reached the PSA target for the proportion of children in local authority care who had three or more placements in one year by 2001. [14920]
Jacqui Smith: The information for the year ending 31 March 2001 is in the table.
(47) Numerator or denominator value 5 or less
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Residential Care Homes (Havering)
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the closure of residential care homes in Havering. [14802]
Jacqui Smith: I understand that Havering council is undertaking a review of its own care homes in order to ensure that they are able to meet future needs and standards. As a result of this review, one council home closed recently and another is in the process of doing so. The council plans to establish four new resource centres that are capable of meeting care needs in a holistic manner. There have been no recent independent home closures in Havering.
People in Havering will benefit from a number of recent Government initiatives designed to improve the commissioning and delivery of care services. The
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agreement with local government, the national health service and independent sector providers of care—Building Capacity and Partnership—will help to bring stability to the care home sector. In addition, Havering council is being targeted for extra help and will this year receive £550,000 of the £300 million we are allocating to councils over the next two years to tackle the problem of delayed discharge from hospital.
Surgical Procedures (Cost)
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 1 November 2001, Official Report, column 828W, by what date he expects to complete his review of activity and costs in the private health sector; what plans he has to publish the results of the review; and if he will make a statement. [13485]
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Mr. Hutton [holding answer 14 November 2001]: The survey returns from the national health service are being analysed by statisticians in the Department. I expect to be able to share the results early in the new year.
My answer of 1 November 2001, Official Report, column 828W set out our plans to improve collaboration between the NHS and the private sector.
Residential Care Homes
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the new care standards for residential care homes in order of date required for implementation. [15125]
Jacqui Smith: National minimum standards for care homes for older people were published on 2 March 2001. Copies are available in the Library.
Most of the standards will apply from 1 April 2002. The exceptions include standards 28.1 and 31.2 (qualifications of staff and managers) which will apply from 2005, and standards 20.1 (communal space per resident in homes existing prior to April 2002), 23.3 and 23.4 (floor space in single rooms), and 23.11 (proportion of single rooms) which will apply from 2007.
Correspondence
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 10 September concerning care home fees. [15117]
Jacqui Smith: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 13 November.
Social Services Departments
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis social services departments will be graded with star ratings in accordance with his speech to the recent local government conference at Harrogate. [14940]
Jacqui Smith: The star rating that each social services department receives will be soundly based upon professional judgment encompassing all the available performance evidence—from inspections, in-year monitoring and the performance indicators. The new system will allow people to tell at a glance how their local council is performing and provide national accountability by highlighting how their performance changes over time.
The detailed process for awarding star ratings is still being decided, in consultation with the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Social Services.
Pneumococcal Vaccine
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 8 November 2001, Official Report, column 349W, on pneumococcal vaccine, when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation last reviewed its advice to the Department; and what evidence his Department has considered in the last year concerning age-based vaccination. [14958]
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Jacqui Smith [holding answer 15 November 2001]: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) last considered the issue of pneumococcal vaccine at its meeting in November 2001. Studies to assess the possible role for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the United Kingdom programme are currently on-going and JCVI will review the evidence once these studies have been completed.
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