Care Homes (Hansard, 30 June 2003)

§ Mr. Hoban
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with Hampshire county council about the funding of their plans to provide residential and nursing home beds for the elderly. [122107]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The Hampshire county council and Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority have developed the Hampshire nursing homes investment strategy. The investment strategy has two primary objectives—to stabilise the nursing home market, and provide the necessary care home capacity to meet the future needs of the population.
The county council and the strategic health authority have worked in close co-operation with the Department to agree the funding necessary to support wide ranging improvements in services for older people. The expansion of national health service beds is part of that agreement and full implementation of the strategy will be met by a partnership investment of £60 million. The first stage of the development will be implemented from December 2004.

§ Mr. Hoban
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authorities have applied to the Department for capital resources to enable them to provide additional nursing and residential home beds for the elderly; and what the status is of these applications. [122109]

§ Dr. Ladyman
The Department has received no formal applications from local authorities for capital resources to provide additional nursing and residential home beds for the elderly.
The Department has put aside £40 million to support a joint project developed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority and Hampshire county council. This project would provide 500 nursing home places in the local authority, to help cope with patients inappropriately placed in hospital beds.
Over the last four years the Department of Health has approved outline business cases from 10 local authorities for private finance initiative projects for older people. These projects provide a mix of rehabilitation, respite, dementia, nursing and intermediate care beds. Three of these projects are operational and the rest are in procurement.