§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what studies he is presently conducting to examine changes in the level of community care resources to meet the increase in demand for social services facilities.
§ Mr. John Patten[pursuant to his reply, 22 April 1985, c. 356]: It is for individual local authorities, taking account of local circumstances and their own priorities, to assess what changes in social services facilities are needed to meet changing demands. The Audit Commission is helping that process with its studies on various aspects of the personal social services, and as announced in my right hon. and learned Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Mr. Soames) on 25 February columns 75–6 the Department's new social services inspectorate aims to secure the most effective use of professional and other resources by identifying good practice and spreading knowledge about it. In addition the Department's research programme has over some years included a number of research projects directed at examining various aspects of community care provision.