Written question asked by Sandra Gidley (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 24 January 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 January 2006. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Friday, 3 March 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Elder Abuse

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps her Department is taking to protect older people who receive care in their own homes from elder abuse;

Answer: To minimise abuse and neglect of older people, the Department has been active in promoting better and more consistent standards of care through the publication and implementation of the national service framework for older people and introduction of the national minimum standards for a range of services, provided to older people in their own homes or in care settings. Employers in regulated social care services have a statutory duty to ensure safety of older people by training staff to prevent service users being harmed or be placed at risk of harm.For non-regulated services, the statutory guidance ““No Secrets”” provides a national framework for local councils and partner agencies to use in developing local multi-agency codes of practice to prevent and tackle abuse. The guidance encourages councils to publicise their adult protection procedures so that all older people are aware of how to seek help if needed.On 7 February, I announced that the General Social Care Council is undertaking a consultation on registering the social care work force. This will allow us to set standards for people seeking social care jobs and to take sanctions against people if they fall below those standards of registration. A well trained and fully registered work force will enable older people, parents and children to have confidence in the people who care for them.

Secondary information