§ 23. Mr. Allan Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if any assessment has been made of the total cost to local authorities of maintaining in the community those elderly people previously admitted to residential establishments run by the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenVarious pieces of work on the comparative costs of different types of provision for elderly people have been or are being carried out, but the wide variations in local circumstances and in the needs of individual elderly people make it impossible to estimate overall costs on the basis of the information at present available.