§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effect of transitional housing benefit on registration of care homes with the Care Commission. [119349]
§ Dr. LadymanTransitional Housing Benefit was replaced by Supporting People Grant (SPG) from April 2003. Registration of an establishment as a care home would mean that residents could not claim SPG. Whether an establishment falls within the definition of a care home is a matter for the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC). Statutory guidance was issued to the NCSC in August on how to distinguish care homes from supported housing of various kinds. Providers have a right of appeal to the Care Standards Tribunal against the NCSC's decisions.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the nursing and residential homes for the elderly that(a) charge residents local authority rates and (b) charge higher rates than the local authority rates in (i) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (ii) Shropshire. [120098]
§ Dr. LadymanInformation on charges for specific nursing and residential homes for older people are not collected centrally. The Department of Health has no476W information available that suggests that the proportion of nursing and residential homes that only charge residents local authority rates, and charge higher rates than the local authority rates, are any different in Shropshire than in the West Midlands region or any immediate neighbouring councils.