§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on(a) the Care Direct pilots and (b) the future of this scheme. [115524]
§ Jacqui SmithThe Government announced in their Manifesto, the intention to build on Care Direct to develop a Third Age Service. In light of this commitment, the Government has taken the decision not to extend Care Direct beyond the first six pilot sites, but to concentrate instead on developing the Third Age Service, for which the Department for Work and Pensions has lead responsibility.
Care Direct will continue in the six councils in the South West until March 2004, where it will provide a basis for the development of an operational model for the Third Age Service.