HC Deb 18 June 1999 vol 333 cc250-1W
Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways Quality Protects management action plans will improve the quality of services for children with disabilities in England and Wales. [86377]

Mr. Hutton

Last September, we announced new Government objectives for children's social services, one of which addressed the needs of disabled children. In their Quality Protects Management Action Plans (MAPS), local authorities were required to set out how they would address these national objectives and to set their own local objectives. All MAPs have now been evaluated by regional social services inspectorate. We shall shortly be publishing a National Overview Report setting out the key messages from this evaluation.

We also consulted on the detailed sub-objectives supporting the main Government objectives, and I am grateful to those parents, voluntary and strategy organisations that responded. We plan to publish revised sub-objectives, including more addressing the needs of disabled children, later in the summer.

The Department has commissioned the Council for Disabled Children to analyse this year's MAPS from the perspective of services for disabled children with a view to recommending further work to enable local authorities to achieve their Quality Protects targets. We are determined to raise standards in the provision of services for disabled children under the Quality Protects Programme. This is an important means of achieving the successful implementation of the Carers National Strategy as it affects parents and carers of disabled children.

Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what performance indicators his Department has developed to quantify improvements in services for disabled children. [86382]

Mr. Hutton

Later this year, the Department will publish sub-objectives for children's services as part of the implementation of Quality Protects. These will include sub-objectives for disabled children. Performance indicators for disabled children will be developed in partnership with all those with an interest, as improved statistical information becomes available. The Department is introducing a new data collection around children in need from February 2000, which could provide the basis for such indicators.

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