§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the development of(a) accessible and (b) understandable information about care homes to enable consumers to make more informed choices. [161832]
§ Dr. LadymanSince 1 April 2002, all care homes have been required, under the Care Homes Regulations and National Minimum Standards, to make plain and accessible information available to residents in an appropriate format. This includes information about the accommodation and services provided by each establishment. The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) is responsible for regulating care homes to ensure they meet the regulations and standards.
The NCSC makes available a register of all the services it regulates including details of each establishment and the types of care the service is registered to provide. It publishes reports of the majority of announced and unannounced inspections of regulated services (with 592W exceptions being reports on children's services for child protection reasons). These are available to members of the public both via the internet and in printed form.
The NCSC will publish before the end of March 2004 its findings of analysis of performance of care homes in meeting the National Minimum Standard on Information to give a national picture of the quality of information provided by care services.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) will take over the functions of the NCSC from 1 April 2004. I understand that CSCI is developing a key corporate objective to ensure, over the next two to three years, that the maximum possible information is available for people in accessible form.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will delay the implementation of the requirement for care home managers to have an NVQ qualification. [162374]
§ Dr. Ladyman[holding answer 18 March 2004]: The Government has no plans to postpone the requirement for care home managers to have a National Vocational Qualification by 2005.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding the simplification of the Statement of Purpose that care homes are required to produce. [162375]
§ Dr. Ladyman[holding answer 18 March 2004]: The Department has not made any changes to the regulations relating to the Statement of Purpose (SOP) for care homes and we have not received any representations. The SOP contains essential information that assists inspectors in their inspections and is prescribed in regulation. Inspectors will need to take into account the types of service being operated—single businesses or large corporations—when making judgments about the suitability of SOP produced.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding a reduction in the number of inspections required each year by care homes. [162376]
§ Dr. Ladyman[holding answer 18 March 2004]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not received any representations regarding a reduction in the number of inspections required each year by care homes.