§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health by what method she intends to distribute the community care special transitional grant in 1994–95; and what conditions she intends to attach to its use.
§ Mr. BowisThe special transitional grant for community care in England will amount to some £736 million in 1994–95. It will be distributed to local authorities on the basis of the personal social services standard spending assessment—PSS SSA. We have decided in the light of early experience of the new arrangements, and of a change to the way in which numbers of residents in independent sector care homes are reflected in PSS SSAs, that it is no longer necessary to base part of the distribution on historic patterns of income support spending on residential care.
There will be conditions attached to the use of the grant similar to those applied in 1993–94. Full details of the grant conditions will be announced separately.
§ Sir Michael GryllsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is available to elderly people about the variety of accommodation and services available to them under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
§ Mr. BowisLocal authorities must publish annual plans outlining the ways in which community care will operate in their area. We expect local authorities to build on these plans to provide their local population with comprehensive details of the services available. This way users of services will be able to make the informed choice which is central to our community care system.