Oral Answers to Questions

Linda Riordan Excerpts

Tuesday 26th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Anne Milton]

Yes, I assure the hon. Gentleman that the Health and Social Care Bill aims to resolve as many of the problems that we know about on the border as possible.

[Mrs Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What estimate he has made of the number of local authorities which changed their eligibility criteria for social care in the last 12 months.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

Decisions about eligibility criteria are a matter for local councils. As part of last year’s spending review, the Government committed an additional £530 million through the local government formula grant, and £648 million in direct support from the NHS, to support social care, as well as £150 million for re-ablement. By 2014, that will rise to £2 billion of additional support for social care.

[Mrs Riordan]

Is the Minister aware that according to a recent survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, 19 local authorities including my own, Calderdale, have had to raise the eligibility criteria for social care because of the cuts that they have received from the Government? Does he stand by his statement of 21 October that there is

“no justification for local authorities to slash and burn or for local authorities to tighten eligibility”?

[Paul Burstow]

I certainly stand by the idea that the Government provided adequate resources in the financial settlement last year, alongside efficiency savings, to ensure that every local authority could choose to maintain the current levels of eligibility and services in its area if it so wished.