NHS: Health and Social Care Act 2012

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 16th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

If I had to single out two or three things from that Act which have been of enormous and incomparable benefit, one would be the enhancement and promotion of clinical leadership within the system, which has happened as a result of the creation of clinical commissioning groups. The second is the creation of Public Health England and the transformation of public health delivery in this country. The third is the separation of elected politicians from the running of the health service, which has enabled the NHS to free itself up to look at innovation in a more creative way

[Baroness Greengross (CB)]

My Lords, does the noble Earl not agree that if specialist secondary clinicians worked a more significant part of their time in primary settings in the community, this would be a welcome innovation across the country?

[Earl Howe]

I do agree. That idea is being taken up by a number of the vanguard sites, which are looking at the new models of care that were foreshadowed by the five-year forward view. It is, I think, the shape of things to come.

Meals on Wheels

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 19th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, as I have indicated, there are a variety of reasons for this. The data collected by the information centre include only people who receive meals in their homes as part of a council-arranged formal package. They do not include informal arrangements such as the provision of meals at day centres or via daycare, or indeed those who pay the council for their meals, as many do.

[Baroness Greengross (CB)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as patron of the National Association of Care Catering. The association recently did some research that showed that, over 10 years, the numbers of people receiving meals on wheels has gone down from 40 million to half that number. That is really very worrying. Can the Government explain whether it would be better to have a statutory requirement for someone to provide these services to the huge numbers of older and vulnerable people within the community?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I do not recognise the figure of 40 million that the noble Baroness mentioned; perhaps she and I could confer after this Question. I think that what matters here is that those with eligible needs receive the service they require. It is up to local authorities to determine eligibility criteria, but the latest available data from ADASS show that all local authorities are setting their eligibility criteria to ensure that they meet at least critical and substantial levels of need.

G8 Summit on Dementia

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 17th December 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My noble friend raises an important issue, because it is going to be increasingly necessary for not only health and care professionals but members of the public to be properly attuned to dementia and the needs of those who have the condition. We want to see all those who deal with the public trained in dementia, at least to a basic level, in a way that is appropriate to their level of engagement with those who suffer from dementia. Dementia training is now a key part of Health Education England’s mandate.

[Baroness Greengross (CB)]

My Lords, I would like to add my congratulations to the Government, and in particular to the Prime Minister on his personal commitment and on securing the summit focusing on dementia. I ask the Minister whether there are any commitments from other G8 countries, both for research and for the other side of this, which is care and how we help the growing number of people—it will be one in three of us in the near future—who are going to experience dementia, in all the G8 countries and beyond.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, it is perhaps too soon to expect concrete proposals from other G8 countries, but I can tell the noble Baroness that the summit was not the end of the story. The G8 countries will be meeting throughout 2014 to build on and develop further agreements. We have agreed to host the first legacy event on social-impact investment in March next year. That will be followed by an event in Japan on what new care and prevention models could look like, and by an event hosted by Canada and France on how industry can harness academic research. There will then be a meeting in the United States in February 2015. We hope that the momentum generated by the summit will elicit the kind of commitments that the noble Baroness rightly seeks.

Care Bill [HL]

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 14th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross (CB)]

My Lords, first, I add my voice in support of Amendment 55, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey. We have not fully taken into account the impact that the Bill will have, when it becomes an Act and is brought into being, on the many people who are now in care homes and where the funding of those homes will suddenly become much more public. Everybody will report to the local authority to get on the meter and the extent of people’s self-funding will become better known. There will be a sort of explosion if we do not get this right and do not allow people to make top-ups. What are we going to do: assume that some of these people will be moved from the care home that they are in and where they are, we hope, happy to another care home because there is inflexibility with the top-up system? That would be really cruel and I hope that we can get as much flexibility and remove as many restrictions on people as we can.

Several cases have been brought to my attention of people who are already in a care home running out of money. They, or their relatives, cannot afford the whole amount but want to be able to top up the local authority amount, which, at the moment, nobody is fully aware of. As this is all going to become much more public knowledge, it is important to have as much flexibility as possible. I hope the Minister will have another look at this.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, first, I turn to Amendment 55, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, which concerns the circumstances in which people wish to top up their own fees to pay for more expensive accommodation. To begin with, and for the avoidance of any doubt, I will emphasise that I agree that people should be able to choose to spend their own money on more expensive care, provided it is affordable. Like the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, I want people to be able to choose to live in more expensive accommodation and gain from a cap on care costs, so that they pay part of the cost of care from their own savings and still receive local authority support.

Through the consultation and stakeholder engagement, we are seeking to better understand the impact of relaxing the rules on self-top-ups and to determine what protections may be needed for vulnerable people.

The answer to the question posed by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is that consultation will close on 25 October. The Minister of State for Care and Support and departmental officials have, over the past quarter, attended a variety of events covering the care and support sector, local authorities and financial services providers. These have been broadly supportive of the principle that people should be able to contribute towards their care costs from their own assets. Stakeholders have also recognised that people need to make decisions which are financially sustainable for the long term, and that financial information and advice need to play an important role in achieving this. We will be able to provide a more comprehensive overview of the views expressed in our response to the consultation in the new year. I repeat that we are on the noble Lord’s side. Our only concern is to ensure that when we relax the rules, there are sufficient protections, both for the individual and for the local authority.

Amendment 56 concerns review of the operation of the capped-cost system. I am sure we can all agree unhesitatingly that these reforms need to be implemented effectively to deliver the outcomes we are striving for. The capped-cost system will provide peace of mind and protection against catastrophic costs and will target most help at those with the greatest need. I am confident that we can further agree that to deliver these benefits, we need good oversight. Therefore, I am with the noble Lords opposite in spirit. To that end, we will be reviewing and assuring both implementation and funding, and have committed to reviewing the core elements of the capped-costs system within each five-year period. We will also conduct post-legislative scrutiny, as the Government have committed to do across the board for all new Acts. The agreement we have with the Liaison Committee in the other place is that this should be done between three and five years after Royal Assent.

Furthermore, we have established the Joint Implementation and Programme Board with the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. We will use this to work with local government on continuing assurance and improvement of the arrangements. We are confident that, in their totality, these arrangements provide generous opportunity for assurance and review to ensure that the reforms remain true to our vision.

For that reason, I do not believe it would be necessary or desirable to supplement these arrangements with a further review by additional oversight bodies, such as an independent ministerial advisory committee. Such additional oversight would cut across the scrutiny conducted by the Health Select Committee and cross-government planning on spending through spending rounds. I am sure that noble Lords opposite will not be totally satisfied with that, but I hope that they will be sufficiently reassured by the confirmation I have given that we will conduct a proper review of the operation and funding of these reforms through several channels. I hope that they will agree that this amendment is, therefore, unnecessary.

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[Earl Howe]

I shall certainly do so.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I thank all the noble Lords and noble Baronesses who have supported these amendments. I am encouraged that the issue is being taken so seriously by the noble Earl. In a way it is a shame that the timing of the consultation is as it is, and that we will not get it through until December. I have always been worried about certain aspects of NHS complaints procedures, when the body that looks at those procedures is the NHS itself. I have felt for many years that that is unfortunate. I am very pleased that the Minister has agreed to look again seriously at all this. We need to protect these extremely vulnerable people from not getting the best level of service that they can because of a decision that could be to the detriment of their care, which could leave them feeling that their situation is hopeless and that there is nothing they can do.

I therefore thank the noble Earl. I am pleased that he is prepared to look at all this again and I hope that we can have some discussions on the outcome. This was a probing set of amendments—I did not intend to do anything other than probe—but I thank him and hope for better news about this or for more detailed decision-making in the near future. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

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[Earl Howe]

I will gladly look into that point. I am sure that it is possible to do that but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, said, many provisions on the statute book are designed to protect individuals from abuse in one form or another and make criminal offences of those actions. Nothing has changed as regards those criminal provisions. If they need to be underlined, however, and if there is scope for misunderstanding what the Government are doing here, then I take the noble Lord’s point, and will gladly reflect and come back to him on that.

Amendments 80 and 82 emphasise the need for involvement of social work-qualified staff in boards and reviews. In Schedule 2 we make it clear that chairs and members of boards must have the “required skills and experience”. It would be impracticable to put into primary legislation every possible type of expertise and professional knowledge that might be needed. We must allow boards the flexibility to appoint members as they see fit. We will, however, ensure that the importance of social work is recognised in guidance, which will also cover the importance of ensuring appropriately qualified oversight of safeguarding adults reviews.

Government Amendment 81 responds to an amendment tabled in Committee by the noble Lord, Lord Rix, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins. On reflection, I see merit in placing a duty on safeguarding adults boards to publish an annual report. This amendment will increase the transparency and accountability of boards.

Finally, Amendment 81A, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Rix, requires that safeguarding adults boards provide their annual reports to the Secretary of State. With a duty on boards to publish their annual report, we can be assured that they will be publicly available. We would expect the local Healthwatch and health and well-being boards to monitor the safeguarding adults board’s progress and report to the Secretary of State if there are particular matters of concern. To require the board formally to submit a report to the Secretary of State would, if nothing else, undermine the primacy of local accountability, which is at the heart of our approach to safeguarding. I hope that, on reflection, the noble Lord will agree with me.

I hope that I have convinced your Lordships that we have done all that we properly can to provide the right legislative framework for safeguarding and, in consequence, that noble Lords will feel able not to move their amendments.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I have to say that I am extremely disappointed that the noble Earl cannot in some way meet the requirements that I put forward in my amendments. Unfortunately, the number of older people who suffer abuse is growing all the time. The sort of personal plans for care that we now want to introduce for everyone just make such abuse a greater risk than it was before. We know that an awful lot of older people are shoved in a room, the door is closed, they get their meal and no one does anything else. Over a long period, those people’s conditions can get worse and worse. When and if they are eventually discovered, it is too late to do anything to help them.

The sort of care that we want to provide for people might be damaged by a refusal to look at this issue in greater detail. I am really disappointed. I understand the noble Earl’s views but disagree with them. I thank all noble Lords who supported what I have said and I assure my noble friend Lady Meacher that I was not intending to persecute carers. My intention related to people who, I am afraid, inflict real harm and hurt on some of the most vulnerable people in our society. I have worked on this issue for years; that is why we set up Action on Elder Abuse, the only specialist agency to look at this. Its view is strong and has not changed. We must have some sort of protection for these very vulnerable people. I hope that one day we can get this matter looked at again and I hope that the Minister will consider it in the future. In the mean time, I withdraw my amendment.

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[Earl Howe]

Before the noble Baroness makes a final decision, I hope that I have been clear that I have reflected on her amendment. I cannot give her false hope that I will reflect further between now and Third Reading; so if she wishes to test the opinion of the House, she should do so now.

[Baroness Greengross]

I am hesitating only because of time and I know that a lot of people have gone home. I thank the noble Earl for his advice and, on that basis, I seek to test the opinion of the House.

Care Bill [HL]

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

I am very grateful to my noble friend and I think I had better reflect further in the light of those comments.

I completely agree with the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, in relation to Amendments 92ZZH and 92ZZJ, that a modern, comprehensive care and support system should be able swiftly and effectively to respond to changing patterns of need. But the issue of fluctuating or emergency needs and anticipated review dates should be left to the local authority and the adult to discuss and agree when going through the care and support planning process. Again, we will consider these matters when producing statutory guidance with partners.

I turn to Amendment 92ZZK in the name of my noble friend Lady Browning. As I have indicated previously, the transition of children to adult care and links between this Bill and the Children and Families Bill merit further consideration and will be discussed at a later date. But I share my noble friend’s expectation. Where an adult has an education health and care plan, their care and support needs assessment and plan should be integrated with it. Both the guidance supporting the Care Bill and the SEN code of practice will set out how we expect this to work.

I turn to Amendments 92ZZLA and 92ZZQA in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross. The Bill is intentionally very clear that the personal budget and independent personal budget must be the cost to the local authority of meeting the adult’s needs, not an arbitrary or hypothetical figure. I can reassure the noble Baroness that the local authority may not set the personal budget to an amount which is less than it would cost the authority to meet the adult’s needs. The personal budget or independent personal budget must reflect the cost to the local authority of meeting the adult’s needs, not the cost to the individual of doing so himself or herself. Otherwise, this would create an unfair advantage for those with more means who are able to pay more for their care and would therefore reach the cap quicker.

I turn now to Amendments 92ZZMA and 92ZZQB, spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler. Enabling adults to request a review of either the care and support plan or the independent personal budget without a determination of reasonableness may leave the process open to abuse and create frivolous reviews costing the local authority time and money. For example, it would not be reasonable to request a review when a review has recently been conducted and needs have not changed. If an adult request is considered unreasonable, then the adult should be informed of the grounds for the local authority’s decision. We will cover this further in guidance.

On Amendment 92ZZR, we wholeheartedly agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, that if an adult lacks capacity the local authority must carry out the assessment if it believes that this would be in the adult’s best interests. We have addressed this in government Amendment 92ZZQC. This puts beyond doubt that the provisions of Clause 11 should apply to any refusal of a needs assessment by an adult with an independent personal budget. As a result, where an adult lacks capacity or is at risk of abuse or neglect, the local authority must carry out the assessment if it believes it to be in the adult’s best interests.

On Amendment 92ZZRA, I can reassure the noble Baroness that it is the Government’s intention to make regulations on choice of accommodation in residential care.

I turn to Amendments 92ZZRAA and 92ZZRAB, spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler. It is important that people should, as far as reasonably possible, be able to choose the accommodation they live in. People may wish to move into a care home in a new area—for example, to be close to relatives—and they should be able to do this even if this is in another local authority area. I can reassure the Committee that we intend to make regulations that enable people to exercise choice of accommodation both within and outside their current local authority. However, we do not believe that it would be appropriate to require local authorities to find and arrange care in another local authority area. While some might choose to do so, others might lack the local knowledge effectively to undertake this task. The requirement may also potentially have significant costs and could reduce the funds available to support those with the greatest needs.

I turn to Amendment 92ZZRB of the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross. Our approach in the Bill is simple. It allows any “person” nominated by the adult to receive a direct payment on their behalf, provided of course that the conditions specified in the Bill are met. In legal terms, a “person” means anyone with legal personality. Therefore, Clause 31 already allows the local authority to pay the direct payment to a person of a type specified by the adult. This includes user trusts set up as companies and organisations set up as companies.

On Amendment 92ZZS, I understand my noble friend Lord Sharkey’s concerns, and I hope I can reassure him that the local authority cannot fulfil its duties under the Bill unless it tells the adult what he or she needs to know in order to make a decision and reach agreement about whether or not to take a direct payment. Further, the Bill contains a regulation-making power at Clause 33(2)(f) to set out cases or circumstances in which the local authority must review the direct payment to ensure that it is being used and managed appropriately.

I turn now to Amendment 92ZZSA of the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins, spoke. There may be only a limited set of circumstances in which a direct payment would not be appropriate, such as where needs can be met only through local authority-provided care and support. It is not our intention to for this to be used to limit access to direct payments. However, it is important that this provision remains in order to ensure that the adult’s needs are met via the most appropriate method.

Finally, I turn to Amendment 92ZZSB, spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler. It has always been our policy that, as long as used legally, there should be no restrictions on the type of services purchased with a direct payment, provided it accords with the care and support plan. Indeed, this reflects current guidance. Clause 25 requires the care plan to detail the needs to be met by the direct payment and, under Clause 31, a direct payment must be an appropriate way to meet those needs. There is no need to state in the Bill the type of providers from which people can purchase care and support.

The noble Baroness asked me what kind of client feedback there will be in the planning process. I am sure that she will agree that deciding the way that care needs are to be met is at the heart of a person-centred care and support planning process. These decisions should be agreed between the local authority and the person after considering the range of options and the person’s own wishes and goals.

We have made a number of changes to the draft Bill to address some of the concerns that we heard—that the balance of the care and support planning process was not adequately weighted towards the wishes of the adult. The process must also include involvement with the carer or any other nominated person, so that all people who can contribute have the opportunity to do so. It will in some circumstances not be possible to reach agreement between the local authority and the service user on the care and support plan, much as that is the aim. In those cases, the local authority will have to act to ensure that the person’s needs are met and that any risks to their safety are prevented. I hope that I have reassured the Committee that the care and support planning process is robust, and that the noble Baroness will feel able to withdraw her amendment.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have raised issues and amendments in this discussion, which has been extremely interesting. I also thank the Minister for his response, which was very positive in all but one or two areas, where I am still not absolutely certain that we are clear on the different levels of payments in care homes. However, I shall come back to the House on Report or speak to the noble Earl later. Again, I thank everybody, and particularly the Minister for his very positive responses. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Care Bill [HL]

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 9th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

Yes, my Lords, they will know that.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I have mentioned to the noble Earl another aspect of this which I think needs to be taken into account. Not only will this funding by some people of other people—or the “secret tax”, as I call it—become better known but there will be a strong incentive for self-funders to dispose of their assets so that the local authority pays the local authority rate for them, even if they pay in more on top of that. Therefore, I think that the Government need to take into account the huge extra cost on local authorities which we have not thought about so far. If self-funders were to go to a financial adviser and ask for advice, I imagine that many financial advisers would say, “Dispose of some of your assets and at least the local authority will pay that rate for you”.

[Earl Howe]

But for somebody with assets who is looking to be taken care of in a residential home the incentive to dispose of their personal assets is surely going to be a great deal less than it is at the moment. I would have thought that that incentive was much greater now than it will be in the future, when we hope that there will be financial products on the market to enable people to insure up to the level of the cap. Therefore, I am not sure that I completely understand the force of the point that the noble Baroness is making. Obviously there will be some incentive for people to dispose of their assets but I suggest that it will be less than she has stated.

To move on to the noble Baroness’s Amendment 86M, there will be a dispute between a local authority and a provider as to the prices proposed or other matters. Occasionally, disputes may become intractable. Therefore, I completely understand why the noble Baroness proposes through her amendment to, in effect, require a new independent adjudicator to arbitrate in any unresolvable disputes. However, it is our view that any disputes arising as part of a contractual negotiation must be resolved through that process. Appointing or establishing a new independent adjudicator would be likely to add unnecessary cost and bureaucracy to the process of commissioning. We also believe that it will be likely to increase disputes by providing a means of challenge which would soon become a standard process.

Care Bill [HL]

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Wednesday 3rd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I apologise to my noble friend for intervening before she had a chance to speak. As the Committee will have gathered, I was observing that it is always good when there is an outbreak of consensus across the Chamber, and I think this is a case in point. It is critical that care and support work actively to promote people’s well-being and independence, rather than just waiting for people to reach crisis point. We want a system that promotes independence and reduces dependency as well as supporting those who already need care and support.

Preventing and delaying needs from arising, or reducing them where they exist, is a central part of local authorities’ modern responsibilities for care and support. Adopting preventive approaches can reduce needs in the longer term, saving public money and improving outcomes. There has never before been a clear legal duty that reflects this priority and establishes prevention as part of the core local authority responsibility. Clause 2 fills that gap, requiring local authorities to provide or arrange services to prevent, delay or reduce needs for care and support and carer’s support. This will create a legal basis for a wide range of preventive services that can help people maintain their independence for longer. The noble Lord, Lord Low, mentioned some good examples but they might also include exercise classes, which can help people maintain and increase their mobility, befriending services and hobby clubs, which can reduce loneliness and social isolation, and installing grab rails in a frail person’s home, which can prevent falls, broken bones and unnecessary stays in hospital. However, those are not the only examples. We want local authorities to be truly innovative in the services offered in their area, which is why we have not been prescriptive in the way that local authorities carry out the duties conferred by the clause. I agree with the noble Lord that these things can bring direct financial savings, and I quoted some good examples, I hope, in speaking on an earlier group of amendments.

Amendments 79A and 79K make the point that prevention should be an overarching principle of a local authority’s care and support functions, and that this should be framed in the context of well-being. This is surely right. To that end, Clause 1 sets out that in exercising care and support functions, local authorities must promote an individual’s well-being. This includes, among other things, having regard to preventing, delaying and reducing needs, as expressly stated in Clause 1(3)(c).

The noble Lord, Lord Rix, makes clear in tabling Amendment 79D the need for local authorities to be proactive in preventing, delaying and reducing needs for care and support, but also in safeguarding adults with needs for care and support from abuse or neglect. As he mentioned, Clause 41 does just that by requiring local authorities to ensure that inquiries are made when an adult with needs for care and support is at risk of abuse or neglect. Clause 42 and Schedule 2 create the legal framework for local authorities to establish safeguarding adult boards, which must devise, publish and implement annual strategic plans for adult safeguarding in their area. There will of course be the opportunity to discuss safeguarding in greater detail at a later date.

Amendment 80C, proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Low, raises the issue of prevention as part of the joint strategic needs assessment and joint health and well-being strategy under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. I listened to him with care and hope that I can reassure him. The existing legislation in relation to these joint assessments and strategies is clear that where any needs can be met by the local authority exercising its functions under the prevention duty in Clause 2, these would be included as part of the joint assessments and strategies.

In Amendments 78C, 79C and 79G, the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, highlights the importance of preventing, delaying and reducing health needs as well as needs for care and support. Again, I find myself in complete agreement with her and, as I said, I believe that the Bill achieves this laudable aim. This is where the importance of integration and co-operation can clearly be seen, a matter also raised by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, in Amendment 79B. Clause 3 requires local authorities to promote the integration of care and support with health and health-related provision, including where this would contribute to preventing, delaying and reducing needs.

Clauses 6 and 7 require local authorities and their relevant partners to co-operate in the exercise of their care and support and carer’s support functions. Such co-operation is to be performed for the purposes of, among other things, promoting an individual’s well-being, which in turn includes having regard to the importance of prevention through Clause 1(3). Accordingly, there is a clear duty on local authorities and their relevant partners to co-operate with one another in preventing, delaying and reducing needs for care and support and carer’s support.

These duties, coupled with the return of public health responsibilities to local authorities as a result of the 2012 Act and the new prevention duty, present a unique opportunity for aligning prevention services across health and care and support. That is why local authorities will be required to ensure the co-operation of their director of public health, where relevant to care and support functions.

I turn briefly to Amendments 87F and 87G, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Low, and the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross. The Government believe that the Care Bill allows for the assessment process fully to take account of prevention. As the well-being principle requires the local authority to have regard to the importance of preventing, reducing or delaying needs for care and support, it must also consider this when conducting an assessment.

Amendment 80A highlights that, to be able to prevent delay and reduce needs for care and support and thus promote independence and well-being, we need to improve the quality and diversity of preventive services, facilities and resources. To achieve this, Clause 5(7) makes explicit provision for local authorities to promote the diversity of services, resources and facilities which can prevent delay or reduce needs for care and support. As the noble Baroness also points out with Amendment 80B, commissioning decisions, including for preventive services, should be made on the best evidence available. In the case of preventive interventions, we know through engagement with the care and support sector that this is not yet as strong as we would like. The Government have committed to developing a library of evidence on prevention. That will enable commissioners to make decisions knowing what is proven to work and what is not. However, to be able to build this evidence base and to find the solutions to the care and support needs of the 21st century, we need to allow room for innovation in developing and testing new models of preventive interventions. Without breaking the mould of traditional care packages, pioneering solutions such as shared lives schemes, which offer an alternative model to home care or residential care using community networks, would not have been able to flourish.

The noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, observed that local authorities need more than a year to plan in terms of the budget cycle. Local authorities already have multiyear financial settlements and that gives them scope to plan services in the longer term The noble Lord, Lord Touhig, returned us to the important subject of autism. He remarked that adults with autism rely on low-level preventive services and he felt that the Bill does not do enough in this area. The reforms to care and support set out in the Bill will benefit people with disabilities, including people with autism. The provisions around prevention, personal budgets and transition between children and adult services are just some examples of new laws which will benefit many people with autism.

As local areas gain a better understanding of autism needs locally and develop autism commissioning plans, we expect them to look more at the cost benefits of more low-level and preventive services, such as befriending services or social skills training. Preventive services can be provided to prevent, delay or reduce needs for care and support, regardless of the level of need involved. I hope that I have reassured noble Lords that prevention is suitably reflected within the Bill and that the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, will feel able to withdraw the amendment.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I was very encouraged by the words of the Minister, but I am still rather worried. It was great to hear the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, who is so knowledgeable about autism. I am also very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for his comments, and to the noble Lord, Lord Low, who made some very apposite points about prevention. If I were a director of adult social services and had very limited funds, I would have to concentrate on the people in the greatest need, and it would be likely that prevention would slip to a lower level of my attention. This is the danger of preventive services not getting the attention that they need. I have yet to be totally convinced that prevention will prevail in the way that the noble Earl suggested. I hope that he is right.

We need a longer timeframe. It is difficult for local authorities to budget in that way, but it is essential if we are to focus on preventive services in the long run. I hope that, as we go through the remaining parts of the Bill, we can be clearer about how to ensure that prevention is at the top of our list. That will apply to eligibility criteria, which we will look at later. In the mean time, I thank all noble Lords who supported what I said and my colleagues for their support. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Care Bill [HL]

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Wednesday 3rd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I support Amendment 78ZA. Six years of serving on the Equality and Human Rights Commission taught me that if we embedded dignity and respect into the training of staff we would avoid many of the tragedies we have read about. This applies, right across the board, to staff in health, social care and housing. It is essential that we take dignity and respect as very serious elements of the training of all staff who come into contact with frail and vulnerable people.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the well-being principle in Clause 1 was devised on the basis of the Law Commission’s report on adult social care which this part implements. The report recommended that the new statute should set out a single, overarching principle that adult care and support must promote or contribute to the well-being of the individual. Not least in the light of our debate at Second Reading, I can therefore understand the noble Lords’ intention in tabling Amendments 78 and 79. It is to ensure that any functions that the Secretary of State exercises under this part take into consideration how such provisions will impact upon people’s well-being. I can give the Committee what I hope will be a welcome reassurance on that issue and, in the process, a rather better and fuller answer than I gave at Second Reading.

It is already the case that the Secretary of State must have regard to the general duty of local authorities to promote an individual’s well-being when making guidance or issuing regulations. This is because, when making regulations or issuing guidance, the Secretary of State must consider how local authorities can fulfil their statutory obligations. He cannot ignore those obligations and I believe this addresses the central concern of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and others who have spoken to the amendment. The question is whether the Bill should go further. The Government do not believe that it is appropriate to apply the well-being principle directly to the Secretary of State. The well-being principle is intended to apply at a very real, individual level. It has been designed to frame the relationship that exists between the local authority and the individual adult, in effect setting out how it is expected the local authority will behave when making a decision, or doing anything else, in relation to a person needing care and support or to a carer. The Secretary of State does not act at this individual level, and I am still reluctant to make any amendment which might be seen to detract from this important legal reform.

Having said that, I have listened with care to the strength of feeling in this debate, not least to the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, about the Secretary of State’s duty to have regard to the NHS constitution and whether there was something comparable that we could devise in this context. That is an interesting comparison and, while I am not yet convinced that it is fully comparable, I am happy to take the points that have been made away with me and give this matter further thought before the next stage of the Bill.

Amendment 78A seeks to bring in to the well-being principle the idea of spiritual well-being and I listened with care to my noble friend Lady Barker who spoke to this amendment. The Government believe that the clause, as it is already drafted, takes such a factor into consideration. Clause 1(2) sets out that well-being means an individual’s well-being in relation to emotional well-being. The Government believe that emotional well-being incorporates the concept of spiritual well-being.

I turn to Amendment 78B, which proposes that local authorities must take into consideration an individual’s beliefs, values and past practices. While we share my noble friend’s intention in this regard, we believe that the clause as it stands already incorporates the idea that people’s beliefs and values should be taken into account when a local authority has regard to an individual’s views, wishes and feelings.

The second part of the amendment would be to ensure that “past practices” were also taken in account. I reassure my noble friend that we will be setting out in guidance the importance of taking into consideration, when planning a person’s care, their views and feelings as well as considering any practices in the past that have been important to that individual.

The noble Lord, Lord Bichard, highlights the importance of dignity in care in his Amendment 78ZA, and he spoke about that concept very powerfully. I am pleased to say that the Government agree that this is important, which is why we amended the Bill to make an explicit reference to dignity into the well-being principle, following pre-legislative scrutiny. With respect to the noble Lord, I cannot agree with him that the word has somehow been lost; it is right there on the page.

I turn to Amendments 78E, 87K and 88J, tabled by my noble friend Lord Black of Brentwood. These amendments focus on the very important topic of pets. The Government have considered this issue carefully since the amendment was tabled, and we believe that the Care Bill already allows for the consideration of pets. First, Clause 1, the well-being clause, provides that local authorities, when exercising any function under Part 1 of the Bill, have a duty to promote the well-being of an individual. Well-being is composed of many aspects, including emotional well-being. A pet might be so important to an individual that their emotional well-being would depend in some way on their pet. If that is the case, a local authority will have to take it into consideration.

Furthermore, Clause 1(3)(b) sets out that in exercising any function under Part 1 of the Care Bill a local authority must have regard to an individual’s “views, wishes, and feelings”. This could include how an individual feels about a pet, and their wishes for the pet. Clause 9, which covers the assessment of needs for care and support, also allows scope for pets to be taken into consideration in the assessment process. As Clause 9(4)(a) sets out, a needs assessment must take into consideration a person’s well-being. This could certainly include an individual’s pet, from which they derive a lot of emotional well-being.

I turn to Amendments 78D and 88L. The Government believe that it is more important than ever that care and support services operate in tandem with health services. The Government have committed to breaking down barriers between health, care and support, as well as encouraging co-operation, integration and joined-up working between local partners. The Government believe that the Care Bill already allows for such co-operation to occur, and I shall explain how. First, Clause 1(2)(a) makes it clear that the well-being principle incorporates physical and mental health. Local authorities must therefore already consider a person’s health when exercising any functions under Part 1. Secondly, Clause 3 details how local authorities must exercise their functions under Part 1 with a view to ensuring the integration of care and support with health provision, where they consider that this would promote the well-being of an individual.

Regulations on assessments for care and support are also relevant. As Clause 12(1)(f) sets out, regulations may set out when a local authority must consult someone with expertise before undertaking an assessment. Regulations may also set out conditions around co-operation with the NHS, by specifying the circumstances in which the local authority must refer the adult concerned for an assessment of eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare.

The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, expressed the view that the eligibility regulations do not sufficiently promote integration. I note the point that he made and look forward to debating this in perhaps fuller measure when we come to discuss eligibility. However, I ought to point out that the draft regulations published last week are subject to consultation, and I am sure that the discussion will explore the points that he made.

My noble friend Lady Tyler said that the regulations do not mention dignity specifically. I think that they have to be read in context. The well-being principle, including the reference to dignity, applies to the assessment of the adult’s needs and to the local authority’s determination of whether those needs are eligible.

To return to my noble friend Lord Black’s amendment on companion animals, we are clear that there should not be any limitations on the uses of direct payments, which was an issue that he raised, as long as they are used to meet needs for which they are paid and not in a way that is unlawful. The key is that direct payments are used to improve people’s outcomes.

I understand the intentions of noble Lords in tabling these amendments but I hope that they feel reassured that they are not necessary, although I will take back the specific issue that I referred to earlier. In the light of that, I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, will feel able to withdraw the amendment.

Autism

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 17th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, we are indeed currently supporting, along with NHS England, a practical guide for CCGs to support health professionals and others in implementing the adult autism statutory guidance, as well as the NICE guidelines on recognition, referral and diagnosis, and the management of adults on the autism spectrum. This will be published later in the summer through the Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I was recently privileged to chair a commission that looked for the first time at the large numbers of people who grow into old age with autism. I would very much like the noble Earl to assure the House that these people will not be ignored, will also receive diagnosis, and that professionals will be trained to ensure that a preventive support system of care is introduced so that it is not always crisis-driven. Can he tell us that?

[Earl Howe]

I agree with the noble Baroness that the needs of those with autism in older age should not be forgotten. We will meet the National Autistic Society, following the publication next month of its report on autism and ageing, to see how we can support the taking forward of this work, which builds on that done by the autism and ageing commission in this House. We are also looking at the whole issue of the training of health professionals, in particular the core curricula for doctors, nurses and other clinicians.

Care Bill [HL]

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 10th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

I conclude by saying to the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, that I hope she takes some encouragement from the work that is in train, and that she agrees with me that it is right to take stock after we see the recommendations flowing from the Cavendish review later in the year. No doubt that can inform our deliberations on Report. I hope that, in the mean time, she will feel able to withdraw the amendment.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken for accepting that the principle that I was arguing about is correct and that there is a need for something to be done. I think we all recognise that, too often, people receive rather poor care. It is very hard to pin down what is going on because we do not have the mechanism to do so.

I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, for saying that the principle of what I said was right. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Browning, and all noble Lords who have spoken for agreeing that something really needs to be done. In my rather simplistic way of looking at things, I think that training leads to a qualification that will lead to a registration. It is as simple as that. Getting the training right would eventually lead to a professional approach of which people could be more proud and which would give them the self-respect that they need and, in the majority of cases, deserve. That would also give us the knowledge that, when things go wrong, there is a mechanism that will stop them from getting worse.

I also agree with the Minister that the Cavendish review could be the way forward and perhaps this is pre-empting something that we will have to wait a while to achieve. I feel very strongly that this has gone on for far too long; the anxieties are really great and something must be done. I hope I can work with my noble friend Lady Emerton so that somehow we can speed things up a little. In the mean time, I thank the Minister for his comments and beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

UK: Ageing Population

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 19th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I can say to my noble friend that I will certainly do that, because this is a very important report. I thank not only the noble Lord, Lord Filkin, but all members of the committee, who worked extremely hard to prepare a very well thought out set of conclusions.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, does the noble Earl agree that social care has been the poor relation for so many years and that we need integration as soon as possible with health and housing? To achieve that, would he commit to the Government mandating integration and earmark sufficient funds so that this care can be a reality as soon as possible for older people with chronic conditions?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I very much agree with the noble Baroness. It is our ambition that people should receive high-quality, integrated, person-centred services that deliver the best outcomes to the service user. Making the service as a whole more efficient is the other benefit of integrating service. There is no single definitive model of integration. Some localities are further advanced than others in thinking about new ways of delivering it. We are developing the concept of pioneers to support the rapid dissemination and uptake of lessons learnt across the country, but we want to encourage local experimentation as much as we can to allow local areas to provide integrated care at scale and pace.

Social Care: Funding

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 21st January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, as the noble Lord is aware, the draft Care and Support Bill is currently going through pre-legislative scrutiny. Our proposals can be amended to support the cap in law and we would include the appropriate provisions when legislation is introduced. I can tell the noble Lord that work is going on drafting such clauses. We have said that we will build national eligibility criteria into the Bill.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, from what we read in the press, it looks as if the Government’s plans might include a cap of £75,000 and that that will not include accommodation costs. As I understand that 85% of people incur lifetime costs below £75,000, would this not skew the outcomes unfairly?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, we have to speak speculatively and hypothetically because I cannot give the noble Baroness any indication of the level at which the Government will finally propose to set the cap. The level of the cap needs to represent an affordable and sustainable relationship between the state and the individual. We will give due regard to the Dilnot recommendations for the cap while taking into account current economic circumstances. We will set out further details in the coming weeks but I am sure that the point that the noble Baroness effectively makes will be closely borne in mind as we approach decision time.

World Sepsis Declaration

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Wednesday 19th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to support the goals of the World Sepsis Declaration; and what action they are taking to improve knowledge and skills regarding sepsis.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe)]

My Lords, the Government fully recognise the importance of addressing sepsis—a potentially life-threatening condition. We support the overall thrust of the World Sepsis Declaration. We have taken a range of actions to address sepsis, focusing on those interventions directly relevant to England—for example, the training of healthcare professionals in the awareness of sepsis. I commend the Global Sepsis Alliance for its initiative in raising the profile of this serious condition.

[Baroness Greengross]

I thank the noble Earl for that reply. However, given the problem of even adequate recognition of the problem of sepsis, and to ensure that the desired treatment improvements are fully underpinned by quality standards, can he assure the House that the Government are able to identify where sepsis sits within the NHS Outcomes Framework and the QIPP workstreams?

[Earl Howe]

Yes, my Lords. The NHS Outcomes Framework is, as the noble Baroness will know, a high-level document intended to drive improvements in the service generally. A condition such as sepsis would be covered in three separate domains of the framework, depending on which aspect of the condition was being considered—for example, safety, most obviously, or quality, or indeed the patient experience. The patient safety aspects are reiterated under Section 5 of the mandate as well, and under this general direction it will be for clinicians to take responsibility for delivering the clinical outcomes.

NHS: Mental Illness

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 17th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, is the noble Earl able to deal with two blatant forms of age discrimination? The first is that the talking therapies are very often denied to older people; pharmaceutical alternatives are cheaper. The other is that, when a diagnosis of dementia is made, the way in which services are organised now means that those services have to be funded by local authority social care rather than the NHS. Given that dementia is a terminal disease, does the noble Earl not feel that this is unfair?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, yes, and we have laid great emphasis on the need to bear down on unreasonable discrimination against elderly people. The noble Baroness is aware that the requirement to reduce inappropriate anti-psychotic medication for the elderly is a key part of the Prime Minister’s dementia challenge. Therefore, I identify completely with the remarks of the noble Baroness on that issue.

Carers: In Sickness and in Health

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Wednesday 11th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, have the Government developed any plans to support carers after the person for whom they are caring dies? Many carers spend up to 20 years doing the caring job. Once the person for whom they are caring dies, they are stranded. They have no job to go back to. They have lost most of their friends and are totally isolated. They suffer bereavement in a different way from the rest of us and need long-term support. Are there any plans to deal with this problem?

[Earl Howe]

As ever, the noble Baroness makes a really important point, and it is one that we fully recognise. In our plans to roll out psychological therapies, carers are very much within the scope of our thinking. As the noble Baroness will know, last year we published a four-year plan of action. We are investing around £400 million—the same sum of money that I referred to but additional to the other sum—in talking therapies: the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. I am sure the noble Baroness will be glad to know that that investment is already making marked improvements, and there is a substantial increase in the number of people receiving the benefit of IAPT.

NHS: Spending Formula

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, it is of course for the devolved Administration in Wales to decide on their own allocation of the health budget for Wales. That is not within my gift, as the noble Lord will understand. However, certainly within England we would expect the funding allocations to support the principle of securing equivalent access to NHS services, relative to the prospective burden of disease and disability. Because we have an independent NHS Commissioning Board, people can be assured that this will put beyond doubt that allocations are driven as far as possible by each population’s need for healthcare services and not by extraneous factors.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, later this afternoon the All-Party Group on Dementia, which I am privileged to chair, will launch a report on the rates of diagnosis, the challenge of dementia and how it can be met. We know that more than half of all people with the disease have not been diagnosed. Diagnosis offers access to a memory clinic that can reduce the impact of the disease or postpone its worst effects. Is the Minister aware that the variations across the country are horrific and that people do not know where to go? Will the Government do something to ensure that everybody has access to the care and support that they need in an area that they can reach?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, we come back to the issue of age in this context. I say again that we believe, as did the previous Government, that age is the primary driver of an individual’s need for health services. The very young and the elderly, whose populations are not evenly distributed throughout the country, tend to make more use of health services than the rest of the population—the noble Baroness gave a very graphic and important example of where that applies. This principle is reflected in the most recent PCT-weighted capitation formula. As I said earlier, there are imbalances that, over time, we will seek to correct.

Older People: Health and Social Care

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 18th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the right reverend Prelate draws attention to an area that we have focused on quite hard in recent months, and the NHS constitution has been changed to strengthen the areas around whistleblowing. In the care home context, often the care home is looking after someone who is not publicly funded and the arrangements there are often ones that the care home itself has put in place. We believe that the CQC needs to focus carefully on the arrangements in the care homes that it inspects to ensure that staff feel free to speak up if they are aware of any problems of maltreatment or anything of that kind.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, does the Minister agree with the final recommendation in the report that we need a major cultural shift if we are to get this right? A very simple and straightforward way of ensuring that would be if every person receiving care was protected under human rights legislation. That would simplify this and make it work straightaway.

[Earl Howe]

The noble Baroness is right. This is about a culture shift and nothing unfortunately can happen overnight. To extend the Human Rights Act to apply to private providers in purely private arrangements in which there is no involvement by a public body would be a radical extension of the Act. The Ministry of Justice leads on humans rights but we will be discussing this recommendation with it and will consider whether further action is needed. However, we need to remember that everyone in a care setting is already protected by the law. I have mentioned to the right reverend Prelate the Care Quality Commission’s registration requirements which set essential levels of safety and quality in the provision of services. Those cover, in a nutshell, the care and welfare of service users, safeguarding service users from abuse and respecting and involving service users. The CQC has extensive enforcement powers to ensure that those standards are met.

Social Care: Legislation

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 11th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

As the noble Baroness will know, one of the main reasons that we wanted to engage widely in recent months with the sector was the very issue that she raised. The quality of social care, the training of those in the workforce and the supply of carers, both paid and unpaid, are concerns going into the future. As the noble Baroness will find out, this will be a major focus of the White Paper.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, will the Minister reassure some of us who have worked closely with the Dilnot recommendations that the Government will take into account the huge savings to the NHS which, following the initial costs, will result from implementing the proposals? The cost of implementation is very limited compared with the huge annual costs of such care to the NHS. Adequate social care will remove much of that from the NHS.

[Earl Howe]

I take the noble Baroness’s point. Nevertheless, she will recognise that Ministers in government cannot ignore cost pressures arising from proposals such as those of Dilnot. We have calculated those costs at £2.2 billion. This is not money that can be drummed up easily. Nevertheless, we are looking at ways in which to address that particular issue.

Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 13th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

I am grateful to the noble Lord. My main point is that, whether by accident or design, the previous Government did the right thing in our view, and that is clearly the advice of the Ministry of Justice, which is in the lead on human rights matters.

I hope I have explained why I cannot support this amendment, despite the Government’s wholehearted support for the principles involved, and that I have demonstrated how seriously we take the issues that the noble Baroness raised. To that end, I can today make four very clear statements. I can confirm that the Government maintain an expansive view of the interpretation of Section 6 and, where we have the opportunity and it is appropriate to do so, we would intervene in legal cases in support of that interpretation. I can confirm that human rights will of course be part of the underpinning framework in adult social care law. Any reforms to the law on care and support will need to ensure consistency with the obligations placed on local authorities by the Human Rights Act. I can commit to hosting a round table, along with my honourable friend the Minister of State for Care Services, to bring together all key partners, including, if she wishes, the noble Baroness, to establish how our strategy on adult social care ensures protection of human rights. Finally, I confirm that if the independent commission on human rights makes any recommendations in its final report about the reform of Section 6 of the Human Rights Act, the Government will give them serious consideration.

On this basis, I hope that the noble Baroness will recognise the extent to which we have tried to address her concerns and will feel able to withdraw her amendment. If not, I beg noble Lords to think twice before voting for it.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for what he has just said, which was extremely encouraging. I have never doubted his commitment to getting this right. I am not a lawyer, but listening to the discussion, I think there was some misunderstanding about the wording of the amendment and the context in which it stands. For example, the word “certain” is defined in the next paragraph as,

“personal care to an individual living in their own home”.

I agree that there could be ambiguity if somebody goes to stay with their daughter and I agree that there could be ambiguity in the drafting, although the amendment was not drafted by me but by the EHRC with the help of very learned lawyers who have worked on this extremely hard. It is limited not to services provided by anybody but to services commissioned or arranged by a public body. Therefore, those particular points that were raised by noble Lords do not apply, although if I thought they did I would agree that it would be a bit silly to try to insist on this amendment.

I feel that in spite of the Minister’s very welcome commitment—we have had time together when he has expressed this so I know that he feels this way—I would like to see the work that the noble Lord, Lord Wills, referred to carried forward, as so many other good policies have been, as there is no party-political disagreement about the aims of particular bits of legislation or the desire to get things right. I would like this to be the case. I am really sorry that the Government feel that we have to wait for those very worthwhile undertakings and pieces of work to be taken on board before we can protect these very vulnerable people who are just not being protected because they happen to be doing what all older people seem to want, which is getting services in their own home rather than going to a residential home. That is what the Government seem to want them to do, and that is what most older and vulnerable people want, as well as many younger disabled people who want to live independently, and many people with learning disabilities. This is not just about one group, although it primarily concerns older people. I just feel sad. I ask the noble Earl to continue with his good intentions but to build on them by incorporating a redrafted amendment in those intentions. On that basis, I feel bound to say that I should like to test the opinion of the House.

Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Thursday 19th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I have not seen that report, but clearly there is concern, following Southern Cross, as to whether difficulties such as those should be predictable in some way. I am sure that a lot of thought is being devoted to trying to avert such crises in the future. I will look at that report and write to the noble Lord with any comments.

[Baroness Greengross]

The Bill is called the Health and Social Care Bill. If the recommendations of the Dilnot commission for social care are implemented speedily with cross-party support there will be a huge saving to the NHS, where many frail and vulnerable people are inappropriately treated because the impending crisis in social care has not been addressed. Does the noble Earl agree that that is the case?

[Earl Howe]

I strongly agree. The noble Baroness will know that running right the way through the Bill are duties around the integration of services between health and social care and indeed between different aspects of healthcare. By giving clinicians greater autonomy to decide what good care looks like for their patients in an area, I am confident that we will see fewer unplanned admissions to hospital, which cost a great deal of money, and much better preventive care for patients delivered by healthcare and social care professionals.

Health: End-of-life Care

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 16th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to inform people of the steps they need to take to ensure their wishes regarding medical treatment at the end of life are respected if they lose capacity.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe)]

My Lords, the Department of Health makes annual resources available to the NHS and local authorities to implement the Mental Capacity Act. These resources are for them to inform and support people who may have lost or be about to lose capacity about their wishes regarding treatment and care. The department’s end-of-life care strategy provides further guidance in this area.

[Baroness Greengross]

I thank the Minister for that helpful reply. Advance directives are now well established in this country, and it is accepted that patients’ wishes in this respect should be followed wherever possible. What systems does the NHS use to record the existence of advance directives and to ensure that they are accessible to doctors as well as available to them so that patients’ wishes can be respected? Where patients have made an advance decision in this regard, what evidence does the Department of Health have on the degree of adherence to their end-of-life medical preferences?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the department does not hold information about the degree of adherence to advance decisions, but I can tell the noble Baroness that there are a number of systems available in the NHS that enable patients to record their preferences for care at the end of life and the choices that they would like to make, including saying where, if possible, they want to be when they die. We know that there is widespread use in the NHS of the Preferred Priorities for Care tool that supports decisions about preferences.

We have also supported the piloting of electronic palliative care co-ordination systems to ensure that a person’s wishes and preferences for care are taken into account and to improve communication between the professions and organisations. The Information Standards Board is currently considering a proposed standard setting out a core data set to support the implementation of those systems.

Hospitals and Care Homes: Hydration

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 7th November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to implement a hydration policy in hospitals and care homes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe)]

My Lords, all providers of regulated activities, including hospitals and care homes, are required by law to have policies in place that protect people from the risks of dehydration. The Care Quality Commission can take action if these requirements are not being met. It is for health and social care providers to develop local hydration policies. There are a number of best practice resources available to help providers to do this.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, evidence has clearly demonstrated that adequate, and indeed good, hydration can lead to fewer falls, through less dizziness, less constipation, less renal and urinary tract problems, and can bring a host of other benefits, particularly among elderly people in hospitals and care homes. Could Her Majesty’s Government introduce firm guidelines on this for all key providers of care, whether in NHS hospitals or in care homes?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I think that mandating a blanket approach to hydration from the centre, as it were, will not have the effect that we want, which is to deliver the person-centred improvements that we all want to see. Having said that, I know that there have been some important developments. As I have just said, providers are now required by law to have policies in place that protect people in hospital, and the regulatory body charged with overseeing compliance—the CQC—has been equipped with tough powers of enforcement. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State instigated a whole succession of unannounced inspections of NHS trusts, and there are further ones on the way. We are also looking at changing the NHS constitution in relation to the issue of whistleblowing. So a lot is going on, but there is a limit to what central government can do. It is in the end up to staff and managers on the ground.

Health: Healthcare Assistants

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 24th October 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

I can agree in part with what the noble Lord says. I do not agree that the training of nurses is skewed against what one might call the traditional caring activities that we associate with nursing, because my understanding is that the division is around 50:50 between the academic and practical elements of the training. We recognise the important contribution of nurses, not just in the new roles that they have taken on but in the fundamental aspects of care. They have the reach and relationships to improve outcomes and experiences for patients. We are doing our best to support them by various means.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords—

[Baroness Thornton]

My Lords, I often take my lead from the noble Baroness, Lady Masham. In an article in the Times today she said that a voluntary register was no cure. This, taken with the confusion created by, I am afraid, the noble Earl’s remarks about struck-off nurses, underlines the point at issue. I ask the Minister: is it really satisfactory that there is a chance that no one would know that a nurse was a struck-off nurse? Is it satisfactory that thousands of nursing care assistants are taking blood and carrying out procedures, but patients cannot know whether they are on a register and properly regulated? That is the problem. The noble Earl needs to think about the kind of juggernaut that is heading towards him on this one.

Health: Osteoporosis

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Tuesday 19th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, it is well known that if an elderly or frail person living at home has a fall which results in a hip fracture is monitored, a great deal of future pain, distress and huge expense to the NHS can be avoided. Does the Minister agree that installing a fracture liaison service in every health area would reduce this serious situation and that the Government ought to make public that aim?

[Earl Howe]

The noble Baroness is correct: fracture services have produced some positive results where they have been used in various parts of the country. I can best answer her question in two brief ways. While decisions about the provision of particular services are best taken locally, it will be the outcomes framework, which I have mentioned, and the incentives that go with it, that will determine the extent to which the NHS locally responds to needs related to this area. Funding for the NHS is protected and will increase above inflation every year of this Parliament. In this difficult climate, that demonstrates the Government’s determination to provide the best outcomes from services, including falls and fractures services.

Disabled People: Dementia

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 11th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the right reverend Prelate rightly calls attention to the needs of those with aural disability. The Government’s plans for audiology are in gestation at the moment. Unfortunately, it is too early for me to tell him, but I shall aim to write him a letter at the earliest opportunity.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, in declaring an interest as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia, I ask the Minister what plans the Government have to reduce the inappropriate length of stay in hospital of many patients with dementia and other impairments. As that would result in quite a lot of savings, I ask the Government to reinvest those savings in community services.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is right. The national dementia strategy quite rightly recognises the need to improve the quality of care for people with dementia in hospital and that is identified in the new implementation plan as one of the key priorities for action. Of course, the main priority has to be to avoid admitting dementia patients to hospital in the first place, if possible. We should admit them only when it is strictly necessary and we should discharge them at the earliest opportunity. We have set priority areas for all hospitals to take urgent action, including appointing a senior member of staff to improve the quality of care for people with dementia and to look after the training of staff in hospitals.

Carers

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Wednesday 16th June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the noble Baroness draws our attention to an extremely important area. Supporting vulnerable children is a priority for the Government. I would say that many young people are happy to help to care for a family member; it helps them to develop a sense of responsibility. However, inappropriate and excessive levels of caring by young people can put their education, training and health at risk and prevent them from enjoying their childhood. We are therefore very mindful of this area of need.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords—

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

My Lords, young carers are often overlooked. Is the Minister prepared to meet young carers and organisations that represent them to discuss their needs? We have done this in the past and, while some of the issues have been resolved, some have not.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, is my noble friend aware—

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, will the Government collect information to help the growing numbers of young, usually working-class grandparents who need to work and who increasingly care nearly full-time for their grandchildren, as well as, frequently, for their ageing parents at the same time?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the noble Baroness raises another important area. One thing that we propose to introduce is greater scope for flexible working, as I said in my original Answer, to enable all employees to avail themselves of that. It will allow greater scope for grandparents in particular but it will also allow neighbours and friends to engage in caring on a much wider scale than they can at the moment.

Health: Government Spending

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Monday 14th June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the simple answer is that we have a duty to ensure that every pound that we spend is spent efficiently, wisely and with value for money at the end of it. As my noble friend will know, the cost of healthcare in this country has traditionally risen at a faster rate than inflation, so even if we are advantaged in the sense of being a protected department, we still have to find savings in order to continue to ensure that we can deliver quality care at an acceptable price.

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Can the Minister assure the House that public authorities will be able to meet their mandatory equality duties, including carrying out equality impact assessments for all relevant policies and decisions, in spite of the difficult financial constraints?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I can reassure the noble Baroness that the imperative to ensure that quality and equality are considered is uppermost in our minds as we proceed with this exercise, and indeed as we go forward into what will be a very difficult financial year next year.

Health: Dementia

Debate between Earl Howe and Baroness Greengross

Thursday 3rd June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as a member of the advisory committee on dementia research.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe)]

My Lords, dementia is one of the most important issues we face as the population ages. We are fully committed to improving the quality of care for people with dementia and their carers. We will accelerate the pace of improvement through a greater focus on local delivery and accountability, and empower citizens to hold local organisations to account.

[Baroness Greengross]

I thank the noble Earl for that encouraging reply. How will the Care Quality Commission be strengthened and aligned with the strategy so that it can support the development of better quality social care, particularly for dementia? As I understand it, there are plans to stop the star rating system in favour of a new registration scheme.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the Care Quality Commission is revising its current quality rating system for adult social care and is working closely with the adult social care sector to develop a more user-friendly system that provides people using services with the information they need to make decisions about their care. That is absolutely in tune with the work being done in the department on driving up quality standards in dementia care. Better information for people with dementia and their carers will enable individuals to have a good understanding of their local services, how they compare with other services and the level of quality that they can expect.