§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibilities social services departments have to support destitute British nationals. [165494]
§ Dr. LadymanIf an adult British citizen approaches a council with social services responsibilities for help, the council should determine whether the person is ordinarily resident in its area or in urgent need. If so, the council should carry out a community care assessment if it believes that the individual adult's needs are such that s/he may be provided with community care services. If, on the basis of a community care assessment, the individual is deemed eligible for community care services, the council should provide those services and, thereafter, review both needs and services at frequent intervals. This process applies to all adult British citizens whether they are destitute or not. In some situations, a council may have to provide substantial help, including residential accommodation, if a destitute British citizen is returning to, or arriving in, the United Kingdom and cannot access benefit; and housing immediately.