Monday 23 January
Gareth Thomas MP received a reply to his question to the Cabinet Office on how many charities have closed or de-registered with the
Charity Commission since May 2010. Minister
Nick Hurd replied saying that 13,517 charities have been removed from the Register of Charities since 1 May 2010. He explained that charities are removed from the register for a variety of reasons. For example, a charity may have ceased to exist or operate, or may have merged, incorporated or transferred its funds to another charity.
Chris Skidmore MP asked the Department of Health in what proportion of finished admission episodes the patient was over (a) 65, (b) 80 and (c) 90 years in each of the last five years for which figures are available. On the same day Jim Shannon MP asked what guidelines the Health Minister had issued to care homes on the prevention, treatment and care of fractures resulting from falls by people with osteoporosis. Replies are awaited.
Dr Julian Huppert MP asked the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the (a) Medical Research Council and (b) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council spent on dementia research in 2010-11. In responding David Willetts said that the Medical Research Council spent £15.6 million in 2009/10. Precise figures for MRC expenditure in 2010/11 are not yet available. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council estimate that they spent £3.5 million in 2010/11.
Caroline Dinenage MP asked what information the Department of Health has received from primary care trusts on plans for spending the 2011/12 NHS social care allocation; which services the money has been allocated to; and what proportion of the money is expected to be spent on older people. She also asked what estimate the Department has made of the difference between the number of people eligible for social care support in England and those receiving formal support from public or private sector agencies. A reply is awaited.
Hilary Benn MP asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of all adults potentially eligible for council tax benefit are pensioners in each local authority in England. Pensions Minister Steve Webb said that the number of pensioners who were entitled to council tax benefit in Great Britain, 2008/09, was between 3,950,000 and 4,490,000 which is equivalent to between 50% and 63% of the entire population entitled to council tax benefit. For context, the take-up rates of pensioners in 2008-09 were lower than non-pensioners for council tax benefit: pensioners had a take-up rate of between 56% and 64% while non-pensioners had a take-up rate of between 72% and 81%.
Tuesday 24 January
The Commons
Health Committee published its highly anticipated
report regarding public expenditure.
The Committee said that health and social care must be seen as two aspects of the same service and planned together in every area for there to be any chance of a high quality and efficient service being provided which meets the needs of the local population within the funding available. Best practice should be rolled out across the Health Service and underperforming commissioners held to account.
The report suggested that precious little evidence of the urgency which it believes this issue demands—on both quality and efficiency grounds. It is a question to which the Committee will return in its Report on Social Care.
The report noted that the Audit Commission argued that a key factor in progress towards joint commissioning is the quality of existing relationships on the ground. The Committee was concerned that NHS organisations are giving highest priority to achieving short-term savings which allow them to meet their financial objectives now, at the expense of planning service changes which would allow them to meet their financial and quality objectives in later years.
The report continued that the Nicholson Challenge can only be achieved through a wide process of service redesign on both a small and large scale. These changes should not be deferred until later in the Spending Review period: they must happen early in the process if they are to release the recurring savings that will be vital in meeting the challenge. In the meantime, the Committee was concerned that savings are being made through “salami-slicing” existing processes instead of rethinking and redesigning the way services are delivered.
The overall picture is of a service that is continuing to function by restricting eligibility, by making greater savings on other local authority functions and by forcing down the price it pays to contractors. The scope for further efficiencies is severely limited. The Government’s response to Dilnot’s proposals should set out how a sustainably funded system will continue into the future. The challenge is to continue to provide a meaningful service until a new system is in place.
In spite of Government assurances, local authorities are raising eligibility criteria in order to maintain social care services to those in greatest need. The Committee reported that it was It is deeply concerning that £116m of the £648m intended to be spent through the NHS on improving the interface between health and social care is being spent on sustaining existing eligibility criteria. This suggests that this money (which was intended to support greater integration of services) is in fact being used to maintain the existing system. To the extent that this is true it is a lost opportunity to promote the necessary process of service integration.
ADASS found that 82% of councils are only providing care to those whose needs are assessed as significant or higher. The Department of Health said that the settlement was intended to “hold the position steady” until a new funding system for social care was developed. The tightening of eligibility criteria shows that the settlement is not sufficient to achieve this. Early reports from the Health Service are that the transfer of money from the NHS to be spent on social care has been effective. This is important but the fact remains that it represents just 1% of annual funding for the NHS. There is scope to extend transfers of this kind. The Department of Health should urgently investigate the practicalities of greater passporting of NHS funding to social care.
The Committee’s report into its inquiry into social care is expected in the first week of February.
Paul Maynard MP asked what proportion of gross national income is spent on services for the elderly. A reply is expected shortly.
Wednesday 25 January
Andrew Jones MP asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid to pensioners as a result of the increase in cold weather payments in winter 2010-11.
Steve Webb replied that during the 2010/11 winter season, it is estimated that cold weather payments amounting to £264.4 million was awarded to pensioners. This has been presented in the Autumn 2011 Statement of 29 November 2011.
Gareth Thomas MP received reply from Simon Burns on his question on the steps his Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the big society initiative. Simon Burns said that the Department of Health encourages and supports the big society agenda. In health care, public health and social care, the big society vision has driven our work to help people take control over their lives, the services they use and communities they live in. He added that the Government is embedding this new approach throughout our proposed health and social care reforms. The vision set out for the national health service, social care and public health puts patients, service users and carers at the heart of services they use and in control of what they access-"no decision about me without me". This is well aligned with a big society approach. He concluded by saying that over the coming years the Department will continue to have a strategic role in the design of the new health and care system. It will be a key shaper and architect and as such will ensure that strategies and policies keep people at the forefront of all that they did, working together with partners and stakeholders to achieve better experiences for all those who interact with the health and care system and help to grow the big society.
Thursday 26 January
Tim Farron MP asked the Department of Health what assessment had been made of the effect of the social care system on the financial sustainability of the NHS and what assessment had been made of the prospects for using increased resources for social care to reduce avoidable emergency admissions and NHS costs. He also asked the Chancellor what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Health, (b) Communities and Local Government and (c) Work and Pensions on the potential for reform of the funding of social care to result in savings to the public purse across Government. Replies are awaited.
Hazel Blears MP asked a series of questions of the Departments of Health and Work and Pensions on what discussions they had held with other Departments on planned reforms to the funding of social care the uses of funding allocated to social services.
Hilary Benn MP also asked a series of older people related questions. He asked what estimate had been made of expenditure by each local authority (a) overall and (b) per head of population on social care in each of the last ten years. He also asked about spending on Meal on Wheels by each local authority (a) overall and (b) per head of population on Meals on Wheels for pensioners in each of the last ten years and what the average charge was for meals on wheels services in each local authority area in each of the last ten years. Replies are awaited.
Friday 27 January
The Department of Health published its monthly delayed transfers of care figures for December 2011. These showed a decline in both in the number of individual delays and the overall numbers of days compared to the previous month. This was said to be down to usual seasonal variations that occur at Christmas and New Year.