§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in United Kingdom care homes have preserved rights to income support; what proportion of these people are charged more than they receive from income support; in what circumstances individuals who cannot meet these extra charges are evicted from care homes; and if he will make a statement. [6124]
§ Mr. Roger EvansI have been asked to reply.
The latest available information for the United Kingdom as a whole is for May 1994. It is estimated that in May 1994 there were 228,000 cases in the United Kingdom with preserved rights to income support. Of these 58,000, 25 per cent., had charges exceeding the total income support received.
For a person with preserved rights to the higher levels of income support, the arrangements for the provision of care and the actual level of charges are a matter between the resident and proprietor of the residential care or nursing home. In exceptional circumstances the local authority may be able to arrange alternative accommodation if a person is being evicted.
Notes:
1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. Sample size 5 per cent.
3. Numbers refer to benefit units which may be a single person or a couple.
154WSources:
1. Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry Residential Care and Nursing Home Report May 1994.
2. Income Support Statistics (Northern Ireland) Annual Enquiry May 1994.