HC Deb 22 May 2000 vol 350 cc352-3W
Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 May 2000,Official Report, column 18W, on the Audit Commission report, Charging with Care, if the options he is considering include taking additional legislative powers. [122843]

Mr. Hutton

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced during debate on the Second Reading of the Care Standards Bill on 18 May 2000 that we will propose an amendment to that Bill that will allow guidance to be issued to councils about charging for non-residential services under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970.

Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 May 2000,Official Report, column 18W, on standard spending assessments, if he will list the ways in which the formula has materially changed in each year since 1997. [122842]

Mr. Hutton

The major changes to the standard spending assessment formula for residential care services for older people and the SSA formula for non-residential services for older people since 1997 are as follows.

For 1998–99 SSAs, the residential care services SSA was revised on the basis of research commissioned from the University of Kent. Previously, four factors influenced the allocation: the number of older people in the authority (including those in institutional settings), the proportion of older people who have a long-term illness, the proportion of older people living in rented accommodation, and the proportion of older people with preserved rights to higher rates of Income Support. In the new formula, the last factor was dropped as the number of preserved rights clients is far less of an influence several years into the community care reforms. The first three factors were retained but four further factors were added:

  • the proportion of pensioners living alone;
  • the proportion of older people receiving Income Support;
  • the proportion of pensioners who are living with someone, but not as a couple;
  • the proportion of older people in receipt of Attendance Allowance.

For 1999–2000 SSAs, the residential services SSA was changed to take account additionally of the numbers of older people claiming Disability Living Allowance and to cease to take account of the number of older people living in institutions.

Also for 1999–2000 the non-residential services SSA was changed to include an allowance for population sparsity and to reflect each authority's potential to raise income from charges.

There were no changes to the SSA formulae in 2000–01.