HC Deb 14 January 2002 vol 378 c78W
Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001,Official Report, column 1037W, on free nursing care, if he will make a statement as to why, from Q1 2000–01, reasons for delay were only collected on the basis of patients of all ages and not by (a) age group and (b) reason for delay; and if he will publish the figures he has collated for this period. [25782]

Jacqui Smith

[holding answer 11 January 2002]: The breakdown of reasons for delay is now collected for patients of all ages, rather than just for those over 75, to give a more comprehensive picture of the reasons for delayed discharges. The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Information from the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care data collection is not currently published for each council. Information on the numbers of elderly people in residential and nursing care at 31 March 2001 whose care is paid for in whole or in part by the local council (supported residents) is available and published in Table S4 of "Community Care Statistics 2001, Residential Personal Social Services for Adults", a copy of which is in the Library.