§ 40. Mr. Costainasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has to improve community care for the mentally ill to enable patients at present in hospital to be discharged.
§ Mr. Snow:Plans for the development of local authority services for the mentally ill are set out in Command Paper 3022—"Health and Welfare: The Development of Community Care".
§ Mr. Costain:Does not the Minister realise, as indicated by correspondence I have had with him, that there is a real shortage of accommodation in mental hospitals to the detriment of patients? Would not private facilities designed to get patients out of hospital make up for the Government's inefficiency in not building enough mental hospitals?
§ Mr. Snow:I am quite certain of my facts when I tell the hon. Gentleman that the record of the Labour Government is better than any previous Government in this matter, from the point of view of hospitals, day centres, workshops and above all, perhaps, social workers. Our building and recruitment figures are very strikingly in support of a progressive policy in this matter.