Southern Cross Care Homes
Debate between Paul Burstow and Mark Lazarowicz(13 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Paul Burstow
Closures in their constituency are of concern to any hon. Member, and I suspect that that is why we have made it clear that we have been working with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. I am not going to come up with an arbitrary threshold below or above which something is good or bad; we need to focus on the needs of the individuals, which is why I have made it clear, in response to some of the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues, that we now have best practice advice on how such closures are to be managed. That did not exist, and was never drafted, under the previous Government.
Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister said that he had been in discussions with the devolved Administrations, as I would expect him to be. What assurances can he give the House based on those discussions for residents in constituencies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about their future under the plans he has announced today?
Paul Burstow
The approach is one that I have rehearsed quite clearly today before the House. We as a Department continue to work closely with the devolved Administrations, sharing information about our contact at a national level with the landlords as a landlord committee as well as with individual landlords. If the hon. Gentleman has specific concerns about Scotland, he should contact the Scottish Government, too.