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13 Dec 2007 : Column 850W—continued
Care Homes: Finance
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will fund a trial of a partnership model for funding social care in East Sussex. [165826]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has no plans to fund a trial of a partnership model for funding social care in East Sussex.
Care Homes: Inspections
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Commission for Social Care Inspection is required to undertake a new inspection of a care home when the registered manager of a care provider changes. [172054]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Before a person is registered to manage any service regulated by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), they must complete the application process. This will not necessarily involve an inspection of the care home in question, but it ensures that new managers are positively approved in their personal capacity before becoming registered and starting work.
All registered persons are required, under Regulation 39 of the Care Homes Regulations 2001, to notify CSCI when a manager of the service in question is to leave, or if a new manager is to be appointed. CSCI may respond to notifications in any way it chooses, and will decide on what action to take in relation to a change of manager depending on what is already known about the service in question. In some cases, CSCI may decide it is appropriate to visit the service in question.
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will review the (a) efficacy and (b) effect on service users of the new inspection methodology introduced in April 2006 by the Commission for Social Care Inspection; and if he will ensure that such a review includes a comparative assessment of care inspection frequency in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. [172166]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) operates at arms length from Government. It is for CSCI to evaluate any changes to its inspection methodology.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered nursing inspectors were available to inspect nursing and care homes in England in each of the last five years. [172939]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that it does not collect annual figures on the number of registered nurses working as inspectors. However, CSCI carried out a data verification project on the skills and experience of its staff in May 2005. This project, which not every member of staff chose to participate in, revealed that at least 318 inspectors had nursing experience or skills at that time.
CSCI is to commence a new such verification project in 2008. It estimates that there are currently at least 300 CSCI inspectors who have an active nursing qualification. Where possible, CSCI will assign inspectors with a nursing background to inspect nursing homes.
Children: Exercise
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on the National School Pedometer Programme; how much is planned to be spent; what estimate he has made of pedometer use by children; and what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of such use in tackling obesity. [171691]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department is spending £494,000 on the ‘Schools on the Move’ National School Pedometer Programme in 2007-08. Our spending plans beyond this financial year are yet to be finalised. The Department also contributed £98,500 to the piloting of the Programme.
A full evaluation of the pilot was undertaken by the London Institute for Sport, Middlesex university, in September 2006. During the pilot year, step counts increased steadily from an average of 8,355 steps at baseline to an average of 16,436 in the 28 week (97 per cent. increase). The pilot found that students’ intention to maintain their walking levels was optimistic as 35 per cent. reported that they ‘definitely’ will maintain their walking during the next 12 months. Most students (51 per cent.) reported that since the beginning of the school year they had increased their physical activity levels. We are confident that the increases in physical activity it produced are likely to have an important impact on energy balance, helping to reduce levels of obesity.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997. [172970]
Ann Keen: Information on the number of people diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis is not collected.
Commission for Social Care Inspection: Manpower
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the inspections carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection in the last 12 months were carried out by locum inspectors; and what training is received by locum inspectors from the Commission for Social Care Inspection before they are deployed. [172118]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The total number of inspections completed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) between 1 December 2006 and 1 December 2007 was 28,116. 293 of these inspections were carried out by locum inspectors, which equates to 1.04 per cent. of inspections for this period.
The majority of locum inspectors are retired inspectors. Training for locum inspectors varies according to region and the requirements of the individual, which will depend on their requirements and previous experience.
Community Care
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate his Department has made of the costs of providing community care (a) in people’s own homes and (b) at a single central location in rural areas; [172280]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the costs of providing community care in people’s own homes in (a) rural and (b) urban areas; [172281]
(3) what estimate he has made of the (a) time spent by and (b) costs of healthcare professionals travelling to provide community care in homes in (i) rural and (ii) urban areas. [172289]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government’s policy is to support people in their own homes for as long as possible, where it is safe to do so and when it accords with their wishes and assessed needs.
No estimate has been made of the costs of providing social care services in people’s own homes or at a single central location in rural areas. Local councils are responsible for providing or arranging social care services in people’s own homes. Councils have
considerable freedom to manage and direct their own resources and the Department does not direct them how best to do so.
No estimate has been made centrally of time spent by and costs of healthcare professionals travelling to provide community care in homes in rural and urban areas. It is for primary care trusts, in partnership with local authorities and other local stakeholders, to assess the needs of their local communities and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing the needs of the local population, including the provision of community care services.
Community Care: Direct Payments
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid in direct payments under the Fair Access to Care Services scheme in the last 12 months, broken down by local authority area; how much of this has not been spent; and if he will make a statement. [169738]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the gross expenditure spent on direct payments under the fair access to care services scheme in 2005-06, broken down by councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) in England. The figures in this table give details on direct payments spent on adults aged 18 and over who fall under the eligibility criteria of the fair access to care services scheme.
Information on how much has not been spent is not centrally available.
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