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Care Homes

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who pays the monetary difference when there are shortfalls between care home fees and local authority contributions for people who are in need of long term care but (a) have no income or third-party financial help and (b) have capital wealth below the lower capital limit set out in Local Authority Circular (LAC(2003)8). [110010]

Jacqui Smith: It is rare for individuals to have no income whatsoever. However, the majority of care home residents do not have sufficient income to meet care home fees and have assets below the upper capital limit. In these situations, they can approach their local council for financial support. Residents should contribute to care costs according to the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992, and neither they nor third parties should be asked to make top-up payments in addition to the resident's assessed contribution in order to meet assessed needs.

If there is a difference between what a council would usually expect to pay for residential care and care home fees, the burden of meeting the shortfall should not be borne by residents or third parties if the residential services are necessary to meet assessed need. It is the council that should make up the difference. These matters are fully set out in the National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) Directions 1992 ("The Direction on Choice") and the amending Direction, the National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) (Amendment) (England) Directions 2001.

Where residents choose to enter more expensive accommodation than the council would usually pay, it is appropriate for residents, in limited circumstances, or third parties to make up the difference between the care home fees and the sum of the resident's assessed contribution and the council's contribution up to its usual cost.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what measures he took to consult care home owners before the recent increase in fees paid by care providers for registration to the National Care Standards Commission; [109939]

(2) if he will make a statement on his policy towards fee increases for care providers registering with the National Care Standards Commission. [109940]

Jacqui Smith: It has always been the Government's policy that the recurrent regulatory costs of the National Care Standards Commission should be borne by providers and purchasers of care.

The Government undertook a wide-ranging, public, consultation on the framework for registration fees during the summer of 2001.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on (i) care home

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accommodation prices and (ii) nursing care prices for the last five years in (A) St Helens and (B) Merseyside; and if she will make a statement. [110006]

Jacqui Smith: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated research on care home accommodation prices and nursing care for the last five years in St Helens and Merseyside.

Recent research on care homes issues can be found in the document titled The Residential Care and Nursing Home Sector for Older People: An Analysis of Past Trends, Current and Future Demand, published on 8 August 2002, copies of which are available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/careanalvsis/residentialcarept.pdf.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance is provided to the elderly to negotiate contracts with care home owners if they are considered financially able to pay under the guidelines set out in Local Authority Circular (LAC(2003)8). [110009]

Jacqui Smith: Where individuals have the capacity or the support of their families to enter residential accommodation themselves, and are not entitled to public funding, councils should nevertheless carry out assessments of their needs if requested and provide general information on residential care and specific information on care homes in their areas. It will be up to individuals or their families to negotiate their own contracts. In doing so they should be directed to Standard 2 of the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People, which sets out the terms and conditions that should underpin such contracts.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the improper use of personal expense allowances (PEA) by care homes; what means exist to ensure patients receive their PEA; and if he will make a statement. [110011]

Jacqui Smith: The Department of Health has not commissioned research into the use of the personal expenses allowance. However, the Department has been grateful for the research conducted by Help the Aged into this matter and the subsequent report "Friday is pay day"published in December 2001.

On the basis of the Help the Aged report, dialogue with other national organisations and correspondence received by the Department, Local Authority Circular LAC(2002)11 reminded councils in March 2002 that personal expenses allowances should not be spent on aspects of board, lodgings and care that have been contracted for by the council and/or assessed as necessary to meet individuals' needs by the council or the national health service. This advice was repeated in Local Authority Circular LAC(2003)8.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio is of registered nurses to residents in care homes in (a) Merseyside, (b) St Helens, (c) Wigan and (d) Warrington. [110008]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not centrally available.

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Chemical Attacks (Preparations)

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of (a) providing and (b) withdrawing defective equipment aimed at protecting NHS staff from chemical, biological and radiological hazards in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [104158]

Mr. Hutton: Between October 2001 and March 2002, the Department issued interim personal protective equipment to trusts in key locations at a cost of £1 million, pending the issue of a new protective suit for ambulance and accident and emergency staff.

Supplies of the new protective suit arrived towards the end of 2002. This was part of a £5 million capital procurement programme.

No information is available centrally about the cost of equipment obtained by trusts prior to the national procurement programme as this was based on each organisation's local risk assessment.

The new suit is designed to a new specification because of the new kind of risks and threats we now face post 11 September 2001. The design is based on expert advice and testing—including from the Defence Science Technology Laboratory at Porton Down—and the garments comply with the relevant European Community standards.

Following its introduction into service, further modifications were necessary. The garments are currently being returned to the manufacturer in a phased way for modification of the foot seams and will be further improved by adding an outer gaiter to prevent water getting into boots. The cost of the modification is being met by the manufacturer and the improvement is expected to incur direct costs of £130,000 plus VAT.

Child Protection Units

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met child protection units in (a) Newham, (b) Haringey and (c) Lambeth concerning the shortfall in child protection social workers in these local authorities. [109110]

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 95W, with regard to discussions my Department has with local authorities on the matters of recruitment of social care workers, which would also apply to the three local authorities named in the question.

The Government are well aware of the recruitment and retention challenges that face the employers of social workers in some parts of the country. This is why we are conducting a national recruitment campaign for social care workers to support employers in attracting staff. The national social work recruitment campaign was launched in October 2001. It is aimed at informing the public about social work and social care, and encouraging recruitment and retention. The £1.5 million campaign includes both national and local press and radio advertising and particular efforts are being made in some areas, such as London and the South East, that face more serious problems with recruitment and retention of social workers.

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In addition to the recruitment campaign, we have also announced a major new specific grant. The Human Resources Development Strategy Grant is set at £9.525 million for 2003–04. One of the central purposes of the grant is to enable social care employers across the statutory, private and voluntary sectors to tackle problems of recruitment and retention.

Child Trafficking

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effectiveness of the safe house operated by West Sussex county council in meeting the needs of children who have been trafficked to the UK; if he will issue good practice guidance to other local authorities on the care of children who have been trafficked; and if he will discuss with the Home Secretary the implications of the safe house project for proposals to establish a safe house for trafficked adults. [109308]

Jacqui Smith: I am aware of the important work undertaken by the West Sussex Safe House—a resource for unaccompanied asylum seeking children for whom West Sussex county council has responsibility. I understand that a proposal has been put to West Sussex county council to replace the safe house with training and support packages to carers of young people assessed as being at risk of being trafficked. It is the intention of West Sussex county council to refocus their delivery of protection and support, making it more flexible while building on the progress they have undoubtedly made.

The White Paper, "Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain" contained a commitment to develop a best practice toolkit to raise awareness of trafficking and to help those who deal with illegal immigrants and trafficking victims to distinguish victims in genuine need and to deal with them appropriately. The toolkit, which was launched on 10 March 2003, aims to provide useful information for those dealing with both child and adult victims of trafficking. It also identifies ways in which enforcement officers may be helped to identify traffickers and obtain better evidence.

Under the provisions of the Victims of Trafficking pilot scheme, which the Home Office also launched on 10 March, a range of support services, including safe accommodation at a number of locations, will be available for the adult women victims of trafficking who meet the criteria for the scheme.

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are made by local authorities, in which (a) Heathrow airport, (b) Gatwick airport, (c) Manchester airport and (d) the Port of Dover are situated, to provide services for (i) unaccompanied children seeking asylum and (ii) children who are being trafficked. [109311]

Jacqui Smith: When a child enters the country alone and claims asylum, Immigration Services refer him/her immediately to the relevant local authority's social services department. The social services department will undertake a needs assessment according to the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and

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their Families and will provide services accordingly. These services should be tailored to the individual needs of the child, just as they should be for any child in need.

The provision of assistance and support to child victims of trafficking should be provided by local statutory services in response to identified needs, whether directly or through specialist agencies. Child victims of trafficking are likely to be in need of welfare services and, in many cases, protection under the Children Act 1989. Social services have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of these children following an assessment of their circumstances.

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