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Direct Payments

Volume 504: debated on Monday 18 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the number of people who are in receipt of a direct payment. (311577)

The NHS Information Centre for health and social care collects and publishes information on the number of people receiving direct payments from councils with adult social services responsibilities.

Information is collected for clients aged 18 and over both during the year April to March and as at 31 March. The number of carers receiving direct payments is also collected during the year April to March. Provisional information for 2008-09 is the latest data available.

All 150 councils provided provisional information on the number of clients receiving direct payments.

86,100 social care clients (aged 18 and over) in England received a direct payment during the year 2008-09 and 68,600 social care clients were in receipt of direct payments as at 31 March 2009.

28,000 carers of adults aged 18 and over provided by 141 councils in England received a direct payment during the year 2008-09.

Final data for 2008-09 are expected to be published by the NHS Information Centre on 25 February 2010 (Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care data for clients) and in April 2010 (Personal Social Services Expenditure and Unit Costs Return 1 data for carers). This will incorporate revisions to the provisional data including the subsequent update of missing data items.