§ Mr. LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment he has made of changes in residential and home care charges for(a) Manchester city council and (b) in the UK. [25775]
(2) what plans he has to help local authority social services meet residential and home care charges in (a) Manchester and (b) the UK. [25776]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer 11 January 2002]: We are providing an additional £680 million to councils next year for social services in England, which is an increase of 6.5 per cent. Manchester will receive its share of this extra money. Councils can decide on how to make best use of these extra resources, including how much to make available for extra residential and home care.