§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the work of the social services inspectorate during the last available year was concerned with private sector social services provision.
§ Mr. FreemanDirect concern with private sector social services provision is a matter for local authorities, which are the registering authorities for private residential care homes. The Department's social services inspectorate works with the statutory, private and voluntary sectors in promoting good standards of care. The results of this work are published from time to time. For example, the inspectorate has recently produced a handbook, "Homes Are for Living In", designed to help care home managers and local authority inspectors evaluate the quality of care in residential care homes for elderly people in both local authority and independent sector homes.
It would not therefore be practicable to apportion the inspectorate's work between sectors.