Reform of Social Care

Bob Stewart Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

There is the nub of a very good question there. If we develop greater national consistency in eligibility and in assessment, we might also start to engender greater consistency in quality, including the contracting that supports it.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

My local borough, Bromley, tries very hard to use its resources for social care as efficiently as possible. Might boroughs such as Bromley and others throughout the country be given more resources to help them to ring-fence funds for social care, particularly palliative care?

[Mr Lansley]

As my hon. Friend will know, local authorities were keen for many of the grants that we provided not to be ring-fenced in future, including the social care, public health and learning disability grants. We aim to give local government more flexibility, but, through the NHS, we are providing additional resources—in Bromley and elsewhere—to support preventive interventions that benefit both social care and the NHS, and I think that that will make a big difference in Bromley. As we know, however, all local authorities are, of necessity, having to seek greater efficiencies, and we are working with local government to identify where they can be delivered. There is still a dramatic variation between the costs of care services provided in different parts of the country.