§ Mr. Neil Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in private and voluntary residential and nursing homes in the United Kingdom are having their fees wholly or partly paid by supplementary benefit board and lodging payments; what is the annual cost of such support; and if he will break down the figures by region, by client type, elderly, mentally ill, mentally handicapped and physically handicapped and into residential and nursing homes, respectively.
§ Mr. MajorIn December 1984, the latest available date, 42,0001 residents of private and voluntary residential care and nursing homes in Great Britain were receiving supplementary benefit to help with their fees at an estimated annual cost of £200 million. These figures cannot be broken down by region, client group or type of home.
The only available information on the number of claimants by social security region and client group is that obtained from a special survey of residents claiming benefit during April to July 1985. The information is contained in a Department of Health and Social Security document "Supplementary Benefit Board and Lodging Allowances, Results of a Special Statistical Exercise (29 April — 29 July 1985)", a copy of which is in the Library.
A special statistical exercise conducted in Northern Ireland in December 1986 indicated that 1,648 people in private and voluntary residential and nursing homes were receiving supplementary benefit towards their fees at an annual cost of about £10.6 million. The numbers in different types of home were as follows:
500W
Home type Residential home Nursing home Elderly 860 390 Mental disorder 27 97 Mental handicap 57 17 Physical disability 61 33 Drug or alcohol dependence 18 — Terminal illness — 54 Others 13 21 Totals 1,036 612 Note:
1. Annual Statistical Enquiry, December 1984.
Information relating to the cost by home type is not available.