§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many registered residential and nursing homes charge fees that are equal to or less than the new rates of supplementary benefit limits of £110 and £138 per week, respectively.
§ Mr. WhitneyComprehensive information on the fees charged for the different categories of residential care and nursing homes is not collected centrally. We believe the new supplementary benefit limits should allow reasonable charges to be met in homes meeting the registration requirements. Information available to the Department relating to supplementary pensioners indicates that, even under the previous arrangements which encouraged upward pressure on charges, up to about 60 per cent. of charges for private and voluntary homes would be at or below the new limits.
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of people in residential care homes for the elderly in Suffolk in receipt of supplementary benefit under regulation 9 in each of the years 1979 to 1985.
§ Mr. WhitneySeparate figures for supplementary benefit claimants in residential care homes for the elderly in Suffolk are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the number of residential care homes for the elderly in Suffolk in each of the following sectors (a) voluntary, (b) private and (c) public for each of the years 1979 to 1985;
(2) what was the number of people in Suffolk living in residential care homes for the elderly in each of the following sectors (a) voluntary, (b) private and (c) public for each of the years 1979 to 1985.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation on the number of homes for the elderly and disabled in Suffolk, and their number of residents, for each of the years 1979 to 1984, is given in the table.
335WInformation about the number of homes and residents as at 31 March 1985 is not yet available.