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Residential Homes

Volume 170: debated on Monday 2 April 1990

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16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a list showing the average proportion of private sector nursing home costs that can be met by his Department in the major cities of the United Kingdom.

As I informed the House on 28 March, I accept the need for more and better information about the true costs of running residential care and nursing homes and I hope to approve the commissioning of the necessary research in the near future. Meanwhile, I have to say that the information sought by my hon. Friend is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what specific items in his Department's budget for 1990–91 will be reduced; and what is the saving on each, in order to fund the extra £25 million he has made available to meet increased income support limits for residential and nursing homes.

No specific new action to make reductions is required. Review of current evidence on actual expenditure, and of the effectiveness of existing control mechanisms, shows that it will be possible to accommodate with the Department's planned total expenditure of £55·6 billion in 1990–91 the £22 million expenditure on increased limits which will not be met from the reserve.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the reply of 26 March, Official Report, column 77, how many of his Department's staff have, since 1979, been given permission exceptionally to hold a financial interest in private residential or nursing homes; and if he will make a statement.

Authority to deal with requests for permission to take up private activities or occupations is delegated to local management. Records are not held centrally.