§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish in the Official Report details of those areas of work of her Department for which time cycles have been prepared covering the next 10 years or more; how far these have been budgeted for; what advice she has sought; and whether such planning has taken into account socioeconomic models and the experience of other countries.
§ Mrs. CastleMy Department now undertakes annual long-term planning reviews of the health and personal social services in the light of all available information on present trends and likely future developments in the community's needs, and on the availability of resources. Specific plans for the allocation of resources for five years ahead are made within the context of the annual White Papers on Public Expenditure. We hope to publish later this year a consultative document which will enable us to take account of the views of health and local authorities and of professional and other interests in preparing guidance on future priorities.
As regards social security, the main area of current work for which long-term projections have been prepared is the new pensions scheme embodied in the Social Security Pensions Bill. Details of the cost implications over the first 30 years were contained in the report by the Government Actuary on the Financial Provisions of the Bill (Cmnd. 5928).