HC Deb 01 April 1993 vol 222 cc411-2W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assistance his Department has given to the Welsh Consumers Council to evaluate the requirements of consumers of community care services in Wales.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

The Welsh Office has not given assistance to the Welsh Consumer Council for this purpose. It is a function of local councils to assess the needs of their local populations for community services in preparing their social care plans. Resources have been made available to the Welsh Consumer Council to manage a scheme to set up panels of users and carers across Wales to evaluate the published information about social and community care which is produced by the statutory authorities.

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken to distribute in Wales his Department's brochure, "Community Care Changes in April 1993"; how many copies of the brochure have been printed; and what has been the cost to date.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

A total of 80,000 bilingual copies of the leaflet, "Community Care in April 1993", have been produced, at a cost of £13,550. They have been distributed to main post offices and Benefits Agency offices throughout Wales.

Mr. John Townend

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate has been made of the total revenue cost to public funds in respect of the 20-year old male mentally ill patient designated in the very challenging behaviour class who recently left the Llanfrechfa Grange hospital, Newport, into community care; what was the amount of special grant given to the Welsh Office; and what are the capital costs for this patient.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Information relating to specific individuals is not kept centrally. The costs of support in both long stay institutions and in the community are based on individual needs.

Funds are available from the mental handicap strategy for the revenue costs to support individuals with a mental handicap in the community. While they may be slightly greater than comparable costs of hospital care, the additional cost is well spent to ensure improvements in the quality of life for the individuals concerned.

No central information is available on capital costs of individual schemes funded by housing associations or private mortgages. The mental handicap strategy does not normally supply capital monies for the purchase of houses.