---

Caring for the Elderly

I am sure that my hon. Friend has not forgotten—perhaps the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Angela Browning) has—that this Government made it compulsory for councils to offer a direct payment instead of providing care directly; every one of those people in Norwich could ask for the cash instead of the care service, and organise their care themselves. Equally, the Government gave councils the money to put a charge on people's homes so that they did not have to sell their homes during their lifetimes, and their care could be paid for after their deaths.