Community Care Expenditure

HC Deb 01 February 1994 vol 236 c609W

Mr. Morgan

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the figure for community care expenditure agreed for each of the next three financial years under(a) the Department of Health and (b) other departmental programmes in (i) cash and (ii) real terms.

Mr. Portillo

[holding answer 27 January 1994]: The level of spending on community care will be determined by individual local authorities, and will reflect their views about local needs and relative spending priorities. The Department of Health programme makes provision for a special transitional grant to local authorities, in recognition of their new responsibilities for community care, amounting to £735.9 million in 1994–95 and £647.6 million in 1995–96, including funding in respect of the arrangements to succeed the independent living fund. A decision on the special transitional grant for 1996–97 has not yet been taken.

The total of the Department of Health special transitional grant and the transfer from Department of Social Security announced last year, is shown in the table. It should be noted that, apart from the special transitional grant, local authorities are not obliged to spend these amounts on community care; nor need they be confined to these amounts.

£ million
	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97
Cash plans	1,274.5	1,838.0	22,56.0
1993–94 prices	1,225.5	1,703.4	2,039.8

Comparable figures for the Scottish Office, made up of the DSS transfer and the special grant for implementation and ILF successor arrangements, are as follows:

£ million
	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97
Cash plans	147.3	158.0	—
1993–94 prices	137.1	142.2	—

The figures for the Welsh Office were provided by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales on 25 January, Official Report, column 229.

In Northern Ireland, the DSS transfer will be £65.3 million in 1994–95 and £100.3 million in 1995–96—£60.8 million and £90.2 million in 1993–94 prices.

In addition, the Department of Social Security plans to spend £120 million on successor arrangements to the independent living fund in 1994–95, and approximately £1,830 million on benefits for those in residential or nursing home care prior to 1 April 1993. Figures for later years are not available.