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19 Dec 2005 : Column 2619W—continued
Departmental Estate
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) land and (b) property her Department owns in Southend West constituency. [35965]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not own any land or property in the Southend West constituency.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) building and (b) refurbishment projects are planned by her Department in (i) 2005–06 and (ii)2006–07; and what the expected costs are of each project. [37386]
Jane Kennedy: No building projects are planned in either 2005–06 and 2006–07. The following refurbishment projects are planned or have been completed during the years in question:
Departmental Property
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) land and (b) her property her Department owns in West Lancashire constituency. [37321]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not own any land and property in the West Lancashire constituency.
Departmental Single Assessment Team
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out the progress made by her Department's single assessment change agent team on (a) long-term conditions, (b) care programme approach, (c) person centred planning, (d) individual budgets, (e) the IT programme and (f) other related work programmes. [37298]
Mr. Byrne: We will consider in the forthcoming White Paper how to ensure greater consistency in approach to assessing the needs of all people with health and social care needs and how needs assessment processes could be better supported by IT.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the single assessment process contributes to the (a) recording and (b) commissioning of non-care services. [37299]
Mr. Byrne:
The single assessment process (SAP) for older people does not extend to non-care services, although the guidance on implementing the SAP (LAC (2002) 1) makes it clear that the framework could support links with housing, benefits and transport, which all make important contributions to independence and
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wellbeing. Where possible local national health service bodies and councils are encouraged to engage with these wider interests as they implement the single assessment process.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to promote the development and delivery of joint training on the single assessment process to health, care and housing staff. [37300]
Mr. Byrne: There are currently no plans in place to support joint training on the single assessment process (SAP) for health, social care and housing staff at a national level but such arrangement may exist locally.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to revise single assessment process guidance to give carers (a) housing-related needs and (b) housing-related service options. [37421]
Mr. Byrne: Carers have a right to approach social services for an assessment of their individual needs, in recognition of the fact that many people with caring responsibilities have, or are at risk of developing, a social care need. Where a carer is an older person they should be assessed in accordance with the single assessment process (SAP), which includes consideration of risks to an individual's independence from their immediate environment. The SAP does not currently extend to housing-related support, but the Department and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are committed to exploring development of an integrated assessment process, which covers health, care and housing-related support.
Disability
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress has been made towards piloting individualised budgets to bring together sources of funding for services, equipment and adaptations to meet disability needs; and if she will make a statement; [37096]
(2) what steps her Department has taken to extend self-directed control to young disabled people; and if she will make a statement. [37101]
Mr. Byrne: The Department is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to take forward a programme of individual budget pilots in 13 local authorities across England. The pilots cover older people, people with physical disabilities or sensory impairments, people with learning disabilities and people with mental health needs.
An individual budget would give the individual being supported a transparent resource allocation which could then be used flexibly in the best way to meet that person's needs. The individual budget pilots will bring together different combinations of funding from a number of sources. The income streams being included in the pilots are:
The first pilot, in West Sussex, will focus on older people and will begin in December this year. The remaining pilots will come on stream during the first half of 2006 and will last for between 18 months and two years. The pilots are being comprehensively evaluated by a consortium of academic research teams in order to provide Ministers with evidence to inform national roll out.
At least three of the 13 pilots will include a focus on young people undergoing transition into adulthood. The Department for Education and Skills will be working closely with us during the piloting activity and considering options for piloting individual budgets for disabled children, young people and families.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's definition is of disabled persons for the purpose of community care services; and when this definition was last (a) consulted on and (b) reviewed. [37097]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not have a definition of disability. The term, together with other terms, is used in primary legislation, the National Assistance Act 1948, but is not defined. The word therefore bears its ordinary meaning for the purpose of community care services, which are provided based on an assessment of need and locally determined eligibility.
There is generally no legal requirement to consult before making primary legislation; however, the eligibility criteria for community care services set out in the National Assistance Act 1948, as amended, were considered as part of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report, Improving the life chances of disabled people (2005).
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation she has undertaken on the merits of a right for disabled persons to request not to live in a residential or nursing care setting; and if she will make a statement. [37098]
Mr. Byrne: A right for disabled persons to request not to live in a residential or nursing care setting was consulted on in the 'Independence, Well-being and Choice' Green Paper, between 21 March and 28 July 2005.
Responses to the consultation were mixed and no clear view emerged.
Elderly Care
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance her Department provides for elderly people leaving hospital who live in rural areas. [37233]
Mr. Byrne:
It is for individual national health service organisations and local authorities, to ensure that the health and social care needs of all patients are met following discharge from hospital.
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2622W
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS on (a) medicines, (b) community health services and (c) outpatient services for elderly mentally impaired patients in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available. [38052]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 15 December 2005.]: The information requested is shown in the following table. The latest year for which data is available is 2003–04.
| 1997–98 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Medicines | 5,173 | 9,272 |
| Community health services | 3,612 | 6,197 |
| Mental health out-patients for elderly (65 plus) | 107 | 328 |
Notes:
1.Medicines figures are NET expenditure and includes family health service (FHS) drugs and hospital and community health service (HCHS) drugs.
2.The medicines figure for 1997–98 is in cash terms, in comparison the 2003–04 figure is based on resource terms.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) acute and (b) long stay (i) NHS and (ii) private and voluntary sector beds for elderly mentally impaired people there were in England (A) in 1997 and (B) on the latest date for which figures are available. [38051]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 15 December 2005]: The information requested is shown in the following table. This covers the number of hospital beds and places in residential and nursing care homes for elderly people with mental illness in England for 1996–97 and 2003–04 1 . However, data on private hospitals and clinics is not available in a comparable form, due to service definitional issues. Data on places in care homes from 2002–03 is not comparable to data for earlier years.
| 1996–97 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily number of available beds | 38,780 | 34,440 |
| Elderly: short stay | 7,370 | 7,510 |
| Elderly: long stay | 8,230 | 4,610 |
| 1996–97 | 2003–04(127) | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of available beds | 28,510 | (128)— |
| Elderly: any length of stay | 21,450 | (128)— |
| 1996–97 | 2003–04(127) | |
|---|---|---|
| Local authority | 3,190 | (128)— |
| Voluntary | 2,280 | (128)— |
| Private | 13,800 | (128)— |
(126)Count of beds/places at 31 March.
(127)Data is not available in a comparable form, due to service definitional issues.
(128)Denotes not available.
Note:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Sources:
K036, RAC5, RAC5(S), RAU1, KH03, RHN (A) and RA (FormA), Department of Health
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2623W
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by English local authorities on (a) residential and (b) community care services for the elderly mentally impaired in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available. [38053]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 15 December 2005]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
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