§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of existing residential capacity that will be lost if his Draft Required Standards for Residential and Nursing Care are implemented. [102994]
§ Mr. HuttonOccupancy rates for care homes and nursing currently runs nationally at about 85 per cent., and locally, in some regions such as Lancashire, at about 50 per cent.
The number of beds which would need to be de-commissioned nationally in order to comply with the Centre for Policy on Ageing's proposed standards was estimated for the Department of Health by Laing and Buisson as approximately 4.2 per cent. for residential care homes and 8.1 per cent. for nursing homes. This information was published in September last year.
Further information on the possible impact of some of the proposed standards is set out in the annexes to the consultation document, "Fit for the Future?"
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding the methodology used by his Department in making their regulatory impact assessment in respect of the Draft Required Standards for Residential and Nursing Homes; and if he will make a statement. [102993]
§ Mr. HuttonWe have not received any comments specifically directed at methodology used in the regulatory impact assessment in the consultation document, "Fit for the Future?". However, we have yet to evaluate all the comments which are being received on "Fit for the Future?". We will carefully consider all the comments we receive.