---

Health and Social Care Bill

I sympathise completely with the intention behind Amendment No 209, which was so eloquently moved by the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, and spoken to by other Members of the Committee. They will know that local authorities are already subject to statutory guidance, which sets out that they should co-operate to make appropriate services available to people moving from one local authority area to another. The issues raised are challenges to our care system. There is no question about that. The noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, knows more than anyone that this is an issue that involves changes to culture as well as resources. The Government believe that a radical rethink of the care and support system is required, and at this stage we remain open-minded about the solutions the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, has so ably described. We want to get the views of the public and a range of experts on the criteria that the new system needs to meet to inform our thinking to develop the range of options that will be presented in the future Green Paper. As correctly predicted by the noble Baroness, the process on Reform of the Care and Support System is under way. Last week the Prime Minister launched a public debate around the principle that will underpin the provision of care and support services in coming decades. A major part of that will be the trade off between local flexibility and the national standards that we are debating here. I cannot satisfy the noble Baroness except to say that we share the same intentions. Moving on to Amendment No. 209A, I think that I can give more specific reassurances and action on these issues. I am very sympathetic to the concern of the noble Lord, Lord Low, about the difficulties that can arise for individuals caught between two local authorities that are unable to agree which is responsible for arranging their care. First, there is the issue of updating the guidance that exists to help local authorities decide which should pay for an individual’s care. I am happy to commit today that we will update the guidance by early 2009. I make just one caveat. During the revision exercise, it is possible that we will encounter wider issues that may impact on the ordinary residence rules that will be considered as part of the Green Paper review, but I shall look at them as part of that review and issue further guidance if necessary at that point. I know that having better guidance in place will help to reduce the number of ordinary residence disputes. However, some will occur. They are currently referred to the Secretary of State to make a decision if the local authority cannot agree, but that is a long-drawn-out process. The amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Low, is designed to deal with this problem by establishing a panel to make the determination instead of the Secretary of State. I fully agree with the principle of the amendment, but I think that we might be able to propose a more efficient solution which I am happy to commit to today. We intend to bring forward proposals for resolving ordinary residence disputes more quickly by issuing directions using existing direction-making powers. Subject to views raised in a full consultation over the summer, the directions could include steps that local authorities should take to resolve the dispute initially and the point at which, if local authorities cannot resolve the dispute, it should be referred to the Secretary of State for a determination, as well as the documents that must be provided. We believe that it will be possible to issue agreed directions and have them in force later this year. We also reaffirm our commitment that the Secretary of State will aim to make a determination within three months of receiving all the papers from the local authorities involved. These proposals will ensure that the emphasis rightly remains on solving disputes at a local level, with referral to the Secretary of State as a last resort. I hope that in the light of those commitments the noble Baroness will withdraw her amendment.