§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations he has received on the closure of residential care homes run by North Yorkshire county council in(a) Whitby and (b) Harrogate;
(2) what representations he has received concerning residential places for the elderly in the North Yorkshire county council area.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyNo such representations have been received. It is for each local authority to determine the best way in which to meet the need for social services in their area, including residential care.
§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many places in residential care establishments in North Yorkshire were available in each of the last five years(a) under the management of North Yorkshire county council, (b) in the voluntary sector, (c) under the management of housing associations and (d) with other owners.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe information in respect of elderly people is given in the table.
Overall residential care provision for elderly people in North Yorkshire increased from 5,500 in 1987 to 5,884 in 1991.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyWe are committed to turning our community care policy into practice. We are making £10.175 million available through supplementary credit approval for capital spending in 1992–93 on information technology to support the implementation of "Caring For People". This allocation is more than double that for 495W 1991–92. Local authorities will be free to use their allocation on systems to support any of the various aspects of "Caring For People". These may include systems to support care management and assessment, systems to enable complaints and inspection procedures, project planning and management systems and software to link existing databases with new financial management systems.