§ Clive EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the(a) progress of the London boroughs in meeting his targets for the reduction of delayed discharge from hospital between September 2001 and April 2002 and (b) outstanding challenges facing the London boroughs. [69965]
§ Jacqui SmithI have been asked to reply. In September 2001 there were 1126 people who experienced a delayed transfer of care from an acute hospital bed in London. By March 2002, the target reduction to 901 beds had been met. London Boroughs received their share of the £300 million made available through the Building Care Capacity Grant to end unnecessary delayed discharges from hospital. Their total allocation was £42,560,387 over the two years 2001–02 and 2002–03.
London Boroughs have agreed challenging targets for further reductions, averaging between 20 per cent and 25 per cent by March 2003. The targets were set as part of the conditions for receiving the grant. For Personal Social Services, we have already announced annual average growth in real terms of 6 per cent from 2003–04 to 2005–06.