§ Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what protection residents of care homes will have against rises in charges following the implementation of the Care Standards Act 2000. [38638]
§ Jacqui SmithPublicly funded residents' resources will continue to be assessed under the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992. These regulations are unaffected by the Care Standards Act. Differences between residents' assessed contributions and the fees set by homes should be met by the council.
In addition on 11 March, I announced a package of measures to stop some care home providers taking advantage of the Government's national health service funded nursing care initiative to artificially raise fees for residents. Amendments to the care home regulations will be made, subject to consultation, to oblige homes to provide a breakdown of their fees. This will make it clear to residents which aspect of their fees relate to nursing care and which to residential care. A central core contract has been issued that NHS bodies should use as a basis for spelling out how any nursing contribution received by a 158W care home is accounted for by them. I have also asked the National Care Standards Commission that standard two of the national minimum standards for care homes for older people should be enforced. The standard states that any contribution to fees by the NHS or a local authority is recorded separately from other contributions from the service user, a relative or other third party.