§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will amend the terms of the capacity grant paid to social service departments so that social services departments that perform well do not receive less than those with an average or poor performance; and if he will extend the time covered by the capacity grant; [63095]
(2) if he will review the terms of the capacity grant paid to social service departments to ease the situation with regard to delayed discharges from hospital; and if he will extend the present capacity grant from one year only. [63482]
§ Jacqui SmithAll local councils with social services responsibilities have received a share of this grant to improve services for those discharged from hospital. In 2001–2 and 2002–3 we have targeted extra resources on those councils with particularly severe problems in providing the range of services needed, and they have had more challenging targets for reducing delayed discharge. This approach has delivered over 1,000 hospital beds no longer occupied by people awaiting discharge by March 2002.
For the future we intend to legislate to make councils responsible for meeting the costs to the national health service of delayed discharges where councils' intervention could prevent the delay, drawing on the experience of similar approaches in Scandinavia. Local councils that meet their responsibilities in reducing delayed discharges will not be disadvantaged. They will have the money to pay for patients in the NHS if they are delayed inappropriately or in the community if they are discharged appropriately.