HL Deb 17 March 2003 vol 646 cc10-1WA
Lord Ashley of Stoke

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they have monitored local authorities' responses to the Circular LAC(2001)8 Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults; how many and what proportion of local authorities have responded; and when they did so; and [HL2035]

Which local authorities have not replied to the Government's request for information following LAC(2001)8 Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults; and [HL2036]

How many and what proportion of local authorities are known to

  1. (a) have identified and made contact with deafblind people in their care;
  2. (b) have assessed the needs for deafblind people;
  3. (c) provide appropriate services to deafblind people;
  4. (d) provide one-to-one support for deafblind people; and
  5. (e) have one member of senior management who has responsibility for deafblind services included in his or her responsibilities. [HL2038]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

Information on services provided for deafblind people has been supplied through referrals, assessment and packages of care data, which show those with dual sensory impairment as a distinct client group in a number of areas. The Social Services Inspectorate has been specifically monitoring progress on implementation of the local authority circular through position statements. Although the specific information requested is not collected generally, all local authorities responded to the questions relating to the LAC in last year's statements and the results are shown as follows. We will continue to monitor implementation through the biannual delivery and improvement statements.

Officials in the Department of Health meet twice a year with members of the Association of Directors of Social Services, Sense, Deafblind UK, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the Royal National Institute for the Blind to share information, review implementation of the guidance and identify ways of assisting local authorities in improving their service delivery to deafblind children and adults.

Percentage of councils which responded to questions in spring position statement 2002–03
Per cent
2322— What progress has the council made towards identifying people who are deafblind
1—None 0.7
2—Some 39.3
3—Good 33.3
4—Nearing completion 17.3
5—Completed 19.3
Missing None Missing
Per cent
2323— What progress has the council made towards identifying those agencies/staff with special skills to meet the needs of people who are deafblind
1—None 0.7
2—Some 36.0
3—Good 36.7
4—Nearing completion 11.3
5—Completed 15.3
Missing None Missing
Per cent
2324— What progress has the council made towards preparing a communications strategy to support people who are deafblind
1—None 14.0
2—Some 56.0
3—Good 16.0
4—Nearing completion 10.0
5—Completed 4.0
Missing None Missing