§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to extend the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 to402W Northern Ireland; what steps he is taking to tackle the issue of delayed discharges from hospitals in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [134831]
§ Angela SmithI am not planning to extend the provisions of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 to Northern Ireland or to introduce equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has made it a requirement on Health and Social Services Boards to invest part of the annual additional allocations for community care services to ensure timely discharge from acute care in hospital. Furthermore the Secretary of State's Draft Priorities and Budget paper, which is currently out for consultation, proposes a new target for the Health and Personal Social Services designed to reduce the maximum waiting time for community care services for people who are medically fit for discharge so that by March 2006 no assessed person should wait for more than eight weeks in an acute hospital, other than in exceptional circumstances.