§ Clive EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) residential and (b) nursing homes closed in London in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000 and (iii) 2001. [69966]
§ Jacqui SmithThe number of residential care homes and nursing homes1 for each year since 1997 is given in the tables.
Information on nursing homes is collected at health authority rather than local authority level.
385W1General and mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics. Includes dual registered homes, therefore the number of residential homes and nursing homes should not be added together.
Table 2: Number of residential care homes4,5, 1997 to 2001. At 31 March Number London Borough1 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Camden 70 66 56 55 47 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 Croydon 143 185 183 192 207 Ealing 101 120 100 72 100 Enfield 113 126 124 117 123 Greenwich 46 50 19 45 47 Hackney 39 39 34 38 46 Hammersmith and Fulham 34 33 .. 33 32 Haringey 104 94 109 116 122 Harrow 77 76 75 77 76 Havering 66 61 64 63 65 Hillingdon 68 70 67 71 68 Hounslow 39 44 43 48 40 Islington 43 42 55 41 40 Kensington and Chelsea 22 21 18 18 16 Kingston-upon-Thames 71 70 71 66 65 Lambeth 119 115 114 108 105 Lewisham 83 76 87 84 85 Merton 54 52 60 56 61 Newham 47 52 50 55 57 Redbridge 69 77 72 75 70 Richmond-upon-Thames 54 63 59 55 55 Southwark 78 46 73 72 72 Sutton 62 64 62 60 59 Tower Hamlets 31 28 28 28 23 Waltham Forest 99 98 118 109 108 Wandsworth 80 77 78 98 95 Westminster 40 41 35 36 35 Source: Department of Health annual returns .. Not available 4Excludes children's homes 5Includes dual registered homes, therefore the number of nursing homes and residential homes should not be added together. 6Information is collected at the Local Authority geographical level and is presented for each London Borough.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency arrangements(a) his Department and (b) the National Care Standards Commission have made to advise care home managers concerning their legal obligations in respect of staff awaiting the results of a criminal record check after 1 August; how many care home staff are awaiting a clearance check by the Criminal Records Bureau; how long they have been waiting; and what action a home failing to comply with staffing regulations because of delays by the Criminal Records Bureau will be required to take. [71202]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer 22 July 2002]: All the statutory regulations are immediately accessible on the Department's website and the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) internet website. The Care Homes Regulations were published in December 2001 following extensive consultation and were immediately placed on the Department's website.
The NCSC wrote to all pre-existing care homes on 8 March 2002 with a guide to the application of the Care Standards Act. The guide included general information about legal requirements, including the requirement for care homes to obtain criminal records checks on staff. The guide included addresses for obtaining more information. The guide also included an application form for providers
386Wto apply for the relevant national standards document. Each set of national standards includes the appropriate regulations at the back.
The NCSC sent a registration pack to all unregistered care homes in February 2002 and sends a registration pack to all new applicants. The pack advises applicants to check the legal requirements before submitting their application to the NCSC.
In addition, the NCSC wrote to all providers in June reminding them of their obligations. This information can be found on the NCSC's website, which also sets out guidance to help providers manage their staff recruitment until the Criminal Records Bureau is fully meeting its targets. The NCSC has also co-operated with the care homes' umbrella organisations, to arrange for publication of this information on their internal sites.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received in connection with the implementation of standards 21.3 and 22.2 of the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People; if he will place them in the Library; what assessment he has made of the impact of standards 21.3 and 22.2 of the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People on the availability of beds in residential care and nursing homes; what estimate he has 387W made of the impact on the number of care homes of the requirement of complying with the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People; and what estimate he has made of the average amount that each care home will have to spend in order to comply with the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People. [65040]
§ Jacqui SmithThe information requested is not easily available. The Department has received a large number of letter about national standards from care home owners, their representatives and other interested parties. Some of these letters include reference to paragraph 21.3 or paragraph 22.2 or both. Separating out all those letters which mention these paragraphs and placing them in the Library would involve disproportionate cost.
On 23 July my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health announced his intention to issue for consultation an amended set of physical environment standards. The aim of the amendments is to remove the requirement for care homes which existed before 1 April 2002 to conform to certain physical environment standards, including standards 21.3 and 22.2. For pre-existing care homes these standards would in future be regarded as good practice to which all care homes should aspire.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the situation facing local authorities and the private sector with regard to care homes. [71762]
§ Jacqui SmithI refer my hon. Friend to the statement on older people's services which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State made to the House on 23 July at columns 869–72.
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes have(a) opened and (b) closed in each region in each of the last five years. [72545]
§ Jacqui SmithThe information requested is not held centrally.
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures he has collated of the average cost over the past five years, by region, for residents of a private care home. [72384]
§ Jacqui SmithInformation on care home fee levels is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may find it helpful to consult reports of the recent annual surveys of the care home sector undertaken by consultants Laing and Buisson. These contain information on the average weekly fees in each region charged by private care homes for elderly people.
The social services performance assessment framework indicators published in October 2001 contain information on councils' unit costs for providing residential and nursing care for different client groups. A copy of this document is available in the Library.
§ Mr. Greg KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential care home places for elderly people were closed in(a) England and (b) the NHS during the last 12 months. [72951]
§ Jacqui SmithThe information requested is not collected centrally.