HC Deb 16 February 1984 vol 54 c328W
Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total level of resources that has been put into community care in each of the last 10 years; what is the breakdown of these figures; and what is his estimate for each of the next five years.

Mr. John Patten

There is no universally accepted definition of the term "community care". Information relating to some major elements is given in the table, which covers up to 1982–83. The Government's plans for the later years up to 1986–87 are set out in the White Paper "The Government's Expenditure Plans"—Cmnd. 9143.—which is published today. There are also important contributions to community care made by public and private sector housing, the voluntary sector, self-help and informal groups and financial and fiscal support measures.

(£ million cash)
Local authority personal social services Joint finance Community health services Family practitioner services
1973–74 501 n/a 590
1974–75 695 212 795
1975–76 927 280 960
1976–77 1,060 8 317 1,104
1977–78 1,159 21 349 1,244
1978–79 1,310 34 389 1,468
1979–80 1,594 42 475 1,730
1980–81 1,966 61 632 2,170
1981–82 2,168 75 702 2,4.89
1982–83 2,366 85 760 2,872

Notes:

  1. 1. All figures are gross current plus capital spending. Local authority figures for 1982–83 are provisional.
  2. 2. The personal social services figures include residential care by local authorities.
  3. 3. Joint finance figures are of allocations to health authorities; these may be spent in the same or later years.