§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authorities levy charges for attendance at day centres for the elderly, disabled, mentally ill and mentally handicapped, other than for meals; and what is the average charge in each category.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 8 March 1991]: We expect local social services authorities to develop effective costing and charging procedures for day and domiciliary care, since this can be valuable in achieving the best use of resources across the range of personal social services. But ability to pay should not in any way influence decisions on services to be provided.
The latest information available centrally on income for such charges is from the 1988–89 revenue outturn forms from the 109 English social services departments. Information on the average charge is not available centrally.
Client group Authorities with an income from users of day centres (other than for meals) Elderly 37 Disabled 37 Mentally Ill 24 Mentally Handicapped 55