§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will give for the last three years for which figures are available the number of residents who have moved out of long-stay mental handicap hospitals and who have (a) remained within the district, (b) returned to districts within the region and (c) moved outside the region;
(2) if he will give the numbers by region of people who have moved out of long-stay mental handicap hospitals during the last three years for which figures are available; and if he will give a breakdown by region and type of accommodation of where these former residents have now moved.
§ Mrs. CurrieI regret that I cannot give the hon. Member all the information he seeks. Information is not available centrally on where former mental handicap hospital in-patients go to live following their discharge; and the first move is not necessarily the last. Mental handicap hospitals are not classified by the length of stay.
Statistics of discharges and transfers from mental handicap hospitals and units in the period 1983–85 are available in the DHSS booklets "Mental Health Statistics for England", copies of which are in the Library. Most of the discharges relate to people who have been in hospital less than six months.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the numbers of residents of long-stay mental handicap hospitals in England who have moved into community homes or units with (a) one to 10 beds, (b) 11 to 20 beds, (c) 21 to 30 beds, (d) 31 to 40 beds and (e) 41 plus beds over the last five years.
§ Mrs. CurrieI am sorry that I cannot give the hon. Member the information he seeks. Information on where people move to on discharge from mental handicap hospitals is not collected centrally.
However, since 1984, statistics have been recorded on the number of residents in small National Health Service units providing community provision for mentally handicapped people. The table gives figures for 1984 and 1985. Units of more than 24 beds do not fall within the definition of "community unit" for the purpose of the statistics. Not all residents in these units have moved there from hospital.
Mentally handicapped people in small NHS units in the community, at 31 December: England Number of beds in units 1984 1985 1–10 374 704 11–20 512 675 21–24 797 700 Total 1,683 2,079 Information on residents in local authority homes and sponsored by local authorities in voluntary and private homes is given in the booklet "Homes and Hostels for the Mentally Ill and the Mentally Handicapped", copies of which are in the Library. Again, not all residents in these homes have been in hospital previously. We do not have figures for people in private and voluntary sector homes-villages etc. who are not sponsored by local authorities.
466WMore detailed information will become available with the introduction of a new residential accommodation statistical return in April 1987.