§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will initiate a research project into the relationship between(a) the raising of fees of residential and nursing homes and (b) the rise in income support levels.
§ Miss WiddecombeAs part of the Department's annual review of income support limits for people in residential care and nursing homes, many interested organisations and individuals submit evidence on charges in such homes which is taken into consideration together with other information from the Department's own sources. The Department has, in the past, commissioned a number of studies in this area, in particular the Ernst and Whinney study published in 1986 and revised in 1987, a copy of which is available in the Library. There are no plans to initiate further research on this issue.