§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he intends to discuss with representatives of health authorities sharing with local authorities the cost of accommodating elderly people in local authority homes or in local authority-financed places in private homes.
§ Mr. WhitneyPeople in residential care homes should not normally require a more intensive degree of health care than that which is already provided in such homes by primary health care teams, and a health authority contribution to accommodation costs would not therefore be appropriate. If, however, the hon. Member has a particular proposal in mind, perhaps she would write to me.