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Care Homes and Sheltered Accommodation (Domestic Pets) Bill

I am most grateful for that intervention. The hon. Gentleman is right. Some charities—the hon. Gentleman may have come across them—bring pets into care homes for a couple of hours so that residents can pet and play with them. Clearly, there is a benefit from that. I cannot help him with the statistics, which are difficult to obtain. I suspect that one reason for that is that people have not thought through the policies—there is simply a knee-jerk reaction of, "Oh, we don't want the fuss and bother of a pet," with no distinction made between budgerigars at one end of the scale and Irish wolfhounds or rottweilers at the other. In many cases, a blanket ban on pets is applied for no reason other than that the provider has not given the issue any serious consideration. That results in many older people being faced with little choice but to give up their pet. While some facilities may allow pets, few have an official policy on the subject. For example, the manager of a facility may be particularly animal friendly and happy to allow residents to keep pets, but what happens when that manager moves on? That ad hoc approach is extremely fragile. It does not present a clear position to residents, staff or anybody else. A few months ago, I had the pleasure of speaking at the annual meeting of Sussex Housing and Care, which has many homes in and around my constituency. It had just been given the gold Community Animal Welfare Footprints for housing award by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It won the silver award in the previous year. It is a shining example of how care homes can strive for a policy that has a direct impact on the quality of residents' lives. Once such an organisation applies its mind to the issue, it often turns out not to experience many practical problems with it. A constituent, Mrs. Maureen Martini, raised a related problem, which could perhaps be considered in Committee, with me. She lives in a sheltered housing complex, which is well known to me. She has always owned dogs and she lost her last dog due to illness only in December. She wants to adopt another small dog and she is looking to adopt one that is already four years old. She finds that, although her landlord, the Anchor Trust, which seems to be one of the enlightened landlords, has a small pets policy, she cannot get the animal rescue centres to give her a small dog. They seem to impose their own rules and requirements on the availability of suitable pets. She says:""I am finding this very upsetting and frustrating… I have always kept a dog and it is routine for me to care for it, motivating me to go outdoors regularly which is something that I am missing very much. Providing company for me at home … is also something that I am missing very much."" That is a typical case of an older person who can see the health benefits of having a pet. According to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association survey, distress caused by the loss of a pet was observed by staff in 39 per cent. of homes that were sampled—an increase of 4 per cent. since Rowntree conducted a similar survey in 1993. Pets are an important source of physical, emotional and social support. They have proven health benefits for older people and can improve even cardiovascular as well as mental health. They are also a great antidote to loneliness, which can afflict so many older people. We know through the work of organisations such as Age Concern that one in four people of pension age suffer from depression at one time or another. The figures that the SCAS produced speak for themselves. Pet owners are 40 per cent. less likely to die from a heart attack and 30 per cent. less likely to have a stroke. They have 30 per cent. less risk of developing heart failure and are more likely to survive a heart attack or stroke. Moreover, routines of pet care are linked with routines of self care. Pets are recognised as one of the key factors in promoting well-being, according to Age Concern and the Mental Health Foundation. As in my constituent's case, pets encourage greater exercise and activity, and older pet owners score more highly on activities of daily living. The National Ageing Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia showed:""Aged and disability service providers believe that companion animals play an important role in clients' lives in the key areas of companionship, health and well-being. Companion animals were perceived as offering a significant contribution to the quality of life… The positive pet person relationship in the aged and disabled sector is a valuable link that must now be not only recognised but acted upon by the government, health and community care sectors"." Of course, there are reservations, and I imagine the Minister will raise some of them—I hope she does not do so extensively because we do not want to run out of time for this important legislation. For example, an animal could outlive its owner. I gather that that does not happen very often, and that when it does, the owner's friends or family, or indeed other residents, often agree to look after it. As the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) said, pets living in care homes and sheltered accommodation often become part of the more general community, and in many instances, other residents take a share in the care of the animal. That routine of shared care might continue if the owner dies or is no longer able to care for the animal. There are concerns about pets—particularly dogs—going into such accommodation and not mixing well or not getting adequate exercise and the question of who is responsible for veterinary care. Other residents could be frightened of, or allergic to, animals. I am arguing not for a blanket policy so that every pet from python to budgerigar must be admitted to a care home or sheltered housing, but simply for a basic legal presumption that pets should be permitted, subject to appropriate discussion about all possible eventualities, and provided they do not cause a nuisance to other residents. Care providers could legitimately and understandably face opposition if any extra burdens were placed on them, but as the studies have shown, an intelligent pets policy allows into care homes animals that would reduce the burden on staff by improving the quality of life for the elderly. Indeed, residents who would otherwise make frequent demands on staff time often focus on their companion animals for much of the day. In conclusion, I should point out the careful wording of the safeguards in the Bill. As I said, there is an overall assumption that care home and sheltered housing providers will not refuse permission for a domestic pet to accompany its owner, but the pet must be of a species authorised by the Secretary of State, so the most outlandish and potentially dangerous animals would hopefully not be authorised.