§ Mr. Murphyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will encourage the use of voluntary organisations to help establish a "Guardian Service" to answer calls for assistance from elderly people.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergIn our handbook "Care in Action" and in the White Paper on elderly people "Growing Older" we emphasised the need to encourage the valuable contribution made by voluntary organisations in meeting the needs of elderly people, including the provision of assistance, by local wardens and neighbourhood schemes, implicit in the concept of a guardian service.
§ Mr. Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of those people living on supplementary benefit or below are elderly people.
§ Mr. NewtonI shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many recipients of invalid care allowance are caring for elderly people; and what would be the cost of extending entitlement to the allowance to married and cohabiting women caring for elderly people.
§ Mr. NewtonInformation is not available to answer the first part of the question. The net annual cost of extending invalid care allowance to married women caring for elderly people is estimated at £11 million.
§ Mr. Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the meeting on 24 May 1982 between officials of his Department and a delegation led by the director of Age Concern, England, to discuss common criteria for admission to voluntary homes; and whether any action has been taken as a result.
§ Mr. NewtonThe meeting on 24 May did not consider the question of common criteria for admission to residential homes run by voluntary organisations.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Mr. Bowden) on 25 October, Official Report, c. 309, he can now give a date for publication of the conclusions of his seminar on elderly people.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergSynopses of research discussed at the seminar on support for elderly people living in the community should be published in the new year.