HC Deb 19 March 1979 vol 964 cc468-71W
Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what are the names of the 36 local authorities which have no day centres for the mentally ill;

(2) what are the names of the 11 local authorities with no direct residential provision for the mentally ill;

(3) if he will list all those local authorities which have not met the minimum standards for residential care for the mentally ill and all those authorities which have not met the minimum standards for day care and, in each case, what specific standards below which they have fallen, for what reason; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy the situation soon.

Mr. Moyle

The most recent list of local authorities' provision for the mentally ill is a provisional list for March 1978. This shows that 27 authorities provided no day care places directly and 13 no direct residential provision. A list of these authorities is in table 1.

The standards referred to by my right hon. Friend in the House on 22 February—[Vol. 963, c. 644]—relate to the guidelines on provision for residential and day care for the mentally ill discussed in the White Paper"Better Services for the Mentally III "—Cmnd. 6233, Chapter IV. The White Paper made it clear that they were provisional and general in character and that the level of local need can only be fully determined in the context of the individual locality "; and that they could be reached nationally only over a considerable period.

In March 1978, 33 authorities had reached the guideline figure for residential provision in areas of"average need ", i.e., 19 places per 100,000 population, and two authorities had reached the guideline figure for day care places, i.e., 60 places per 100,000 population; they are listed in table II. In each case the list is provisional and takes account of places made available both directly by the authority itself and by voluntary and other organisations, hospitals and other local authorities.

Further progress will depend primarily on the resources available and the priority given by authorities to these services. At the time of the 1975 White Paper, many authorities had little or no existing provision, and, in her foreword to the White Paper, my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State acknowledged that in present economic circumstances the building up of the new pattern of services would take time. The rate of development proposed in our 1976 Consultative Document on"Priorities for Health and Social Services in England"was such as to enable the White Paper guidelines to be achieved nationally within about 25 years. The growth of residential places nationally is broadly on target for this, but growth in the provision of day care is too slow. Action being taken to improve the position on day care is set out in my replies to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Moonman) on 22 January—[Vol. 961, c. 57–8]—and 8 February—[Vol. 962, c. 274–5]—and in my reply to my hon. Friend on 8 February—[Vol. 962, c. 274]. In addition I am now seeking further information from authorities which have no residential provision available.

TABLE I—LOCAL AUTHORITIES* WITH NO DIRECT DAY CARE OR RESIDENTIAL PROVISION AT 31 MARCH 1978

With places available in voluntary etc.

provision

Day Care

  • City of London
  • Northumberland
  • Solihull
  • Suffolk
  • Trafford
  • Westminster
  • Warwickshire

Residential Provision

  • Dudley
  • Kensington and Chelsea
  • Kingston upon Thames
  • Lambeth
  • Oldham
  • Solihull
  • Tower Hamlets
  • Waltham Forest

With no places

Day Care

  • Barnsley
  • Bedfordshire
  • Buckinghamshire
  • Bury
  • Calderdale
  • Dudley
  • Durham
  • Gateshead
  • Gloucestershire
  • Hertfordshire
  • Isle of Wight
  • Oxfordshire
  • Rochdale
  • Rotherham
  • St. Helens
  • Sandwell
  • Stockport
  • Sunderland
  • Tameside
  • Wigan

Residential Provision

  • Barnsley
  • City of London
  • Gateshead
  • Isle of Wight
  • Wigan

* Excluding the Isles of Scilly.

The list does not take account of day centre places which are not allocated to particular client groups.

TABLE II—LOCAL AUTHORITIES WHICH HAD REACHED THE GUIDELINE FIGURES FOR RESIDENTIAL AND DAY CARE PROVISION AT 31 MARCH 1978

Residential Provision

  • Barnet
  • Brent
  • Camden
  • Croydon
  • Dorset
  • Ealing
  • East Sussex
  • Greenwich
  • Hackney
  • Hammersmith
  • Haringey
  • Harrow
  • Hillingdon
  • Hounslow
  • Islington
  • Kensington and Chelsea
  • Kent
  • Lambeth
  • Lewisham
  • Liverpool
  • Manchester
  • Newcastle
  • Newham
  • Norfolk
  • Northamptonshire
  • Richmond upon Thames
  • Salford
  • Somerset
  • Southwark
  • Tower Hamlets
  • Wandsworth
  • Westminster
  • Wirral

Day Care

  • Newham
  • Tower Hamlets