§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the entitlement of self-funded residents of nursing and care homes to receive attendance allowance; and if he will580W estimate how many self-funded residents of nursing and care homes are receiving attendance allowance in each nation of the United Kingdom. [10915]
§ Maria EaglePeople who meet the whole cost of their place in a residential care home or nursing home entirely from their own resources and without help from public funds are termed self-funders and may be entitled to continued payment of attendance allowance which is based on care needs. Those self-funders who are entitled to attendance allowance can continue to be paid the benefit subject to their receiving no help from public funds.
We estimate the number of self-funders over the age of 65 in the UK to be:
Number of self-funders England 57,000 Scotland 7,000 Wales 6,000 Northern Ireland 2,000 Total 72,000 Notes:
1. Estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. Data for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to estimate the number of self-funders in receipt of attendance allowance in nursing and care homes were not available. We did have reliable information from the Scottish Executive for Scotland. This was used to then estimate the numbers in the remaining nations.
3. It is assumed that all those self-funders in residential and nursing homes are entitled to attendance allowance or the care component of disability living allowance.
4. It is assumed that the percentage of over 65s in care who are self-funders is the same in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as in Scotland.
5. May 2001 and February 2001 5 per cent. scan of AA and DLA computer systems and Scottish Community Care Statistics 2000.