HC Deb 24 July 1997 vol 298 cc684-5W
Mr. Gorrie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in each local authority area currently(a) receive residential care allowance and (b) do not receive residential care allowance because they are in local authority homes. [9611]

Mr. Galbraith

(a) The payment of residential care allowances is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security. Figures for each local authority area are not available. Current data published by the Department of Social Security for August 1996 indicate, on the basis of a sample survey, that the estimated number of people in Scotland receiving residential care allowance was 13,000. This figure includes people in residential care homes and nursing homes.

(b) The latest available information is for 31 March 1996 and is set out in the table.

Residents in local authority residential care homes: Scotland— 31 March 1996
Local authority Number of residents
Aberdeen 425
Aberdeenshire 363
Angus 220
Argyll and Bute 173
Clackmannanshire 34
Dumfries and Galloway 275
Dundee 451
East Ayrshire 131
East Dunbartonshire 52
East Lothian 152
East Renfrewshire 44
Edinburgh 652
Falkirk 205
Fife 479
Glasgow 1,140
Highland 361
Inverclyde 70
Midlothian 143
Moray 143
North Ayrshire 127
North Lanarkshire 456
Orkney Islands 77
Perth and Kinross 249
Renfrewshire 282
Scottish Borders 212
Shetland Islands 63
South Ayrshire 167
South Lanarkshire 442
Stirling 158
West Dunbartonshire 245
West Lothian 191
Western Isles 163
Scotland 8,345

Mr. Gorrie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospital patients are currently occupying beds in each health board area because of local authorities' inability to provide placements in nursing homes. [9699]

Mr. Galbraith

In March 1997, health boards reported that around 750 patients throughout Scotland were ready for discharge from hospital but were awaiting appropriate accommodation and packages of care in the community, including in nursing homes. There are many reasons why such patients may need to remain in hospital. Information on the number of patients ready for discharge to the community is not collected routinely.