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Social Services

Volume 503: debated on Wednesday 6 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2009, Official Report, column 165W, on social services, for what reason publication of the interim report of the Personal Social Services Research Unit is considered unhelpful; and what discussions he has had with external stakeholders on the effect of publication of the interim report on their engagement with the Big Care Debate. (308776)

The interim results from the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) were not based upon the latest policy assumptions, reflecting, for example, what people have been telling us in the consultation, and the Prime Minister’s announcement on free personal care. We have therefore concluded that to release the interim results could be unhelpful and misleading.

The PSSRU continue to model the funding options for care and support based on revised assumptions. We intend to publish more details of this work next year. In the meantime, the whole methodology of the interim report was published on the PSSRU’s website in July at:

www.pssru.ac.uk

The top-level costs and benefits are in the impact assessment published with the Green Paper and available on the Big Care Debate website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which month of 2010 he plans to publish his Department's White Paper on the future of social care. (309119)

We consulted on the Green Paper “Shaping the Future of Care Together” between 14 July and 13 November 2009 and received more than 29,000 formal consultation responses. Many thousands more people participated in the debate through stakeholders, who have told us that they obtained input from over 24,000 people in preparing their responses. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation.

These responses will feed into a White Paper, to be published early this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Big Care Debate events have been held since the publication of the Green Paper on Shaping the Future of Care Together; in which constituencies such events have been held; and which hon. Members (a) have been invited to attend and (b) are recorded as having attended such events. (309120)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper), on 15 December 2009, Official Report, column 1058-59W.