§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the adjustment in the amount to be transferred from the social security budget to local authorities from 1 April 1993 in the light of the uprating of benefits announced by the Secretary of State for Social Security on 12 November; and if she will make a statement.
319W
§ Mr. YeoThe amounts of the transfer which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 2 October were based on a calculation made at that time of the resources which the Government would otherwise have provided to finance care through social security payments to people in residential and nursing homes. The transfer was calculated on the assumption of an increase in social security benefit levels of 4.25 per cent. In the event the uprating of social security benefits announced on 12 November amounted to 3.6 per cent., but I do not envisage any adjustment being made to the transfer amounts.