§ Mr. SymsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by local authority the money allocated to social services to alleviate winter pressures for(a) winter 2000–01 and (b) winter 2001–02. [17627]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer 23 November 2001]: In order to manage winter pressures it is crucial that the national health service and social services work closely together. In winter 2000–01, we allocated an additional £116 million for winter pressures via the NHS for use in joint planning to address local issues in both health and social care. This was followed up with an additional £100 million for social services in 2001–02 to enable them to continue to meet commitments from last winter.
744WOn 9 October we announced a further £100 million for social services in 2001–02 to tackle capacity issues and reduce delays in discharge from hospital.