Community Care

HC Deb 09 May 1994 vol 243 cc45-6W

Mr. McGrady

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what advice the Department of Health and Social Services has given to health boards on consultation with users and carers in producing local purchasing plans for community care; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ancram

The need to involve users and their carers in the planning and delivery of community services is a continuous theme in a broad range of advice and guidance issued since March 1990 by the Department of Health and Social Services to health and social services boards.

In March 1991 the Department issued guidance on commissioning and purchasing and asked boards to seek to involve service users, carers and other relevant bodies in

respectively. The JTP expenditure has been estimated because all of the expenditure in respect of Training Allowances has not yet been charged to vote. Whilst we have figures showing the numbers of trainees entering employment we cannot say for certain that this was invariably full time employment, although that is likely to have been the position in most cases. In addition a proportion enter further education. The number of young people engaged in the Youth Training Programme in each of the years since 1984–85 then entering employment or further education is as follows:

determining service specifications, and to set out the terms and conditions of service users' involvement. The guidance also required boards to consult individual clients and their carers when planning to purchase services to meet their assessed needs.

In October 1993 the chief executive of the HPSS management executive issued further guidance to boards requiring them to consult widely with their residents, their health and social services councils and other interested parties in developing their plans for purchasing community care.

In addition the Department's social services inspectorate has brought to boards' attention official and other relevant publications and reports covering good practice in community care including the participation of users and carers. In February 1994 the social services inspectorate informed boards of a further publication in the Department of Health study series "Implementing Community Care" entitled "Informing Users and Carers" about empowering users and carers through disseminating information.