§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many local authorities have responded to the 2001 guidance on the services given to deafblind people; and which authorities have done so; and [HL1320]
Whether they have monitored the performance of local authorities regarding the guidance from the Department of Health on the services which deafblind people are entitled to receive; and what were the results; and [HL1321]
How many local authorities have agreed the Department of Health guidelines about the services deafblind people are entitled to receive; and which authorities have done so; and [HL1322]
What is their assessment of the improvement of services to deafblind people arising from Department of Health guidance in 2001; and [HL1323]
Whether they intend to give further guidance to local authorities following their guidelines on services to deafblind people in 2001. [HL1324]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)Since the Department of Health issued guidance in 2001 on social services for deafblind children and adults, the Social Services Inspectorate has been monitoring local authorities' performance through its delivery and improvement statements. We are not able to provide detailed comparisons with previous years but the statements for autumn 2003 show that the general quality of service has improved since 2001. We recognise that there is still room for improvement. We hope to see further improvements during 2004. We currently have no plans to issue further guidance.