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It being Seven o'clock, the motion for the Adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put.

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Joan Ryan.]
 
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Maria Eagle: Is it that late already?

The funding that we provide meets the cost of residential training, but not any of the wider charitable intentions or activities. Sometimes the work might go beyond the specification in our contracts.

Mr. Sanders: The Minister is absolutely right, but it was put to me that the contract might buy nine weeks at the centre, when the person needs 12 or 13 weeks. The additional weeks are what the RNIB is subsidising. It is perfectly possible under the contracts in force to buy nine weeks in various establishments around the country, but what about the extra weeks and the additional expertise and work necessary during those extra weeks to produce a positive outcome from Government funding?

Maria Eagle: I hear the hon. Gentleman's point, but I cannot tell him precisely how many weeks are specified in each of our various contracts or in the particular case of the RNIB. I can tell him that our contracts are intended to meet the needs of a specific individual. I am receiving information that on average nine weeks are specified, but that provision is sometimes made for a longer period. I cannot comment on individual instances, but no doubt some value is always added from a little more. In respect of our contracts, we are happy both that Manor House has done a good job and that other providers are able to do the same.

The hon. Gentleman also said that cash payments had fallen; I dealt with that when I explained that the cash spent at Manor House had not fallen. It was the RNIB that suggested that the amount of money that it received had gone down. As I explained, the number of places that we buy there is quite small and fluctuates when people do not want to take them up. We cannot force people to go there. Our spend on residential training is certainly three times what it was in 1997.

Mr. Sanders: The record will show that I did not allege that the amount of funding was going down. That makes my point. The RNIB made that allegation—obviously wrongly—to justify closure of the centre.

Maria Eagle: Yes, the hon. Gentleman was reading out what some at Manor House had said about the
 
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reasons for the closure. I was not trying to suggest that he was making the allegation; I am only trying to set the record straight by explaining that our spend there has increased.

The hon. Gentleman discussed the way in which the decision was taken and said that he and his local community were not prepared to put up with it and were undertaking various activities in order to persuade the RNIB to change its mind. All I can say is that I have heard everything that he has had to say. It is not for me to tell the RNIB what to do. As I said, my officials are to meet the RNIB on Friday, and we also meet on an ongoing basis to deal with longer-term issues of funding provision. My officials will also have heard what the hon. Gentleman had to say. I hope that he will recognise that that is about as far as I can go in that respect.

I end by saying that I am sure that the Department will continue to be able to meet the needs of people who are visually impaired. The sort of treatment and training that can be obtained at Manor House will be available at other centres around the country. We will do our absolute utmost to ensure that the people currently at Manor House will not be disadvantaged. My officials will meet RNIB representatives on Friday to make sure that that is the case, and I assure the hon. Gentleman that I and the Department will continue to look closely at what the RNIB is doing. If the closure goes ahead, our aim is to make sure that the transition for constituents—of the hon. Gentleman and of other hon. Members—who are at Manor House will be as smooth as possible.

However, I have listened to what the hon. Gentleman had to say about his ongoing campaign. We will watch with interest how that develops, but I assure him that the training and help for visually impaired people that is currently offered at Manor House will still be available in other settings.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at six minutes past Seven o'clock.

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