§ 36. Mr. Tim Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what extent he is considering applying a greater proportion of National Health Service resources to psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric treatment.
§ Mr. Ennals:The Government attach high priority to developing services for mentally ill and mentally handicapped people, and in March 1978 national guidelines for forward planning were issued to health and local authorities, suggesting rates of growth to 1982 and 576W indicating the major priority areas where service development and increased expenditure are needed. It is the Government's policy that the balance of care in these two fields should shift from the health services towards the personal social services.
It is envisaged that, in England as a whole, NHS capital and revenue expenditure on mentally ill and mentally handicapped hospital patients should increase in real terms by about 2 per cent. a year over the period 1976–77 to 1981–82. During this time the number of beds is expected to reduce so that the amount spent per bed would increase by over 41½ percent. a year. Expenditure on personal social services for the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped over these years is planned to increase by almost 9 per cent. a year.
Authorities were asked to spend about£9 million of the English share of the £50 million injection announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his April Budget on psychiatric and geriatric hospital care, and as I said in the debate on the Gracious Address, I hope to be able to announce further resources for the health and personal social services over and above the increases already planned.