PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1101W
Written Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Written Answers
1102W
The Department will set out its spending for the year
in detail in its annual accounts in the usual way.
Social Services
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) whether his Department has made an estimate of
costs associated with local authorities having
introduced restrictions on the eligibility criteria for
social care; [150135]
(2) what support his Department has offered to help
local authorities maintain current thresholds for Fair
Access to Care criteria; [150164]
(3) with reference to his Department’s White Paper,
Caring for Our Future, what steps he is taking to
introduce a new assessment and eligibility framework
for social care. [150167]
Norman Lamb: Under the current legal framework,
local authorities are free to set their eligibility threshold
for adult social care services. Local authorities base
their own threshold in response to local needs and
circumstances. We have not made any estimate of the
costs associated with local authorities having introduced
restrictions on the eligibility criteria for social care.
The Government has committed to introducing a
national minimum eligibility threshold for adult social
care. Provisions to this effect were included in the draft
Care and Support Bill, and subject to the passage of
legislation, this will be introduced from April 2015. The
Government will determine the level of the threshold as
part of the Spending Review, which we will announce
later in the year. Local authorities will be free to set
their eligibility threshold at a more generous level but
will not be able to tighten them beyond the national
minimum threshold.
The Government also gave a commitment in the
White Paper “Caring for our future”, that we will
develop and test options for a potential new assessment
and eligibility framework. A Steering Group involving
all relevant stakeholders will be established in the summer.
The Steering Group will develop new models and these
will be evaluated over a number of years. The Steering
Group will then put proposals to Government and we
will consider the feasibility of implementing these.
We know that the last Spending Review provided
local government with a challenging settlement. This is
why we took the decision to prioritise adult social care,
and provide extra funding for local authorities to help
in maintaining access to services. Since then, we have
provided local authorities with additional resources for
social care. However, it is ultimately for local authorities
to choose how best to use their available funding.
But we cannot improve care and support by putting
ever more money into the system. We have already seen
examples of local authorities redesigning services to
find more efficient ways of working. Many local authorities
are innovating and achieving much greater integration
between health and care services, thereby improving
care for people and optimising use of resources available.
EDUCATION
Academies: Finance
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for
Education what the duties of the Education Funding
Agency are in relation to monitoring academies’
funding agreements. [146028]
Mr Laws: The duties of the Education Funding
Agency (EFA) in relation to academies’ funding agreements
are to provide assurance over the proper use of public
funds provided by the EFA through financial assurance
undertaken by the EFA itself, or by others. The EFA is
also responsible for compliance with the funding agreement
by academies and it investigates alleged breaches of the
funding agreement, except where they relate to educational
matters or where another statutory body is responsible.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for
Education what the duties of Ofsted are in relation to
monitoring academies’ funding agreements. [146030]
Mr Laws: Ofsted does not have a role in monitoring
academies’ funding agreements; this role is carried out
by the Education Funding Agency. Ofsted’s remit is to
inspect and regulate services which care for children
and young people and those providing education and
skills for learners of all ages, including academies.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for
Education which academies, from which academy
groups or chains, have had their funding agreements
revoked since May 2010; and what the (a) date of and
(b) reasons for each such revocation were. [146031]
Mr Laws: No academies have had their funding
agreements revoked since May 2010.
Departmental Responsibilities
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for
Education which activities in the Children and Young
People’s Family Division of his Department have been
scaled back, ended or deprioritised since September
2012; and how many such activities are planned to be
scaled back, ended or deprioritised. [143053]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 12 February 2013]: The
Children, Young People and Families Directorate was
replaced by the Children’s Services and Departmental
Strategy Directorate on the 3 December 2012 as part of
internal restructuring at the Department for Education.
Resource is now regularly reprioritised according to
where the Department is at on the cycle of work and to
ensure the Department is run as efficiently as possible.
Going forward, the Department’s business planning
process will determine which activities are scaled back,
ended or deprioritised. This is due to complete in the
next few months and will be followed by ongoing
reprioritisation so that staff resource is always focused
where it is most needed.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for
Education what advice was given by special advisers at
or before the Department for Education Board meeting
of 4 October 2012 on scaling back, ending or
deprioritisation of activities within the Children and
Young People’s Family Division of his Department.
[143054]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 13 February 2013]: The
Secretary of State receives frequent advice from special
advisers on the full range of departmental policies, and
on prioritisation.