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Care Homes and Sheltered Accommodation (Domestic Pets) Bill

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and his comments have reminded me to say something else in praise of pets: they provide much to all of us, whatever our age. As the hon. Member for Eastbourne rightly pointed out, however, there is a group about which we should be particularly concerned. Nevertheless, we should speak up for the role of pets and their positive contribution to many lives—those of not just older people, but people in sheltered housing whatever their age. The parliamentary timetable gives the Bill no chance of succeeding, but I wish to put on the record how much we appreciate the sentiment and intent behind it, and I would like to extend to the hon. Gentleman the opportunity to discuss this important matter further. He made the legitimate point that there should be a national policy on pets and older people. I should like to do something about that. As we have heard, pets can provide companionship, reassurance and affection for people who may be feeling more isolated than ever, especially if their circumstances have changed. I know from experience how valuable contact with animals can be. My friend Janice, who lives in Lincoln, has had her rather lovely dog Millie trained by the charity Pets As Therapy, to which I believe the hon. Gentleman referred. Janice gives her time—as well as Millie's—to visit people in care homes. As I have seen, Pets As Therapy provides behaviour-assessed, vaccinated animals and trained volunteers, such as Millie and Janice, to go to hospitals, hospices and care homes. I have been struck not just by the difference that Pets As Therapy makes to individuals, but by the dedication of the staff and the animals. They make 6 million bedside visits a year. As the hon. Gentleman pointed out, that is just one way in which people can benefit from pets. I cannot emphasise too strongly how much I approve of the sentiment behind the Bill. Of course we do not want a ban on pets in care homes or sheltered housing. Independent providers of care and accommodation are currently able to make individual decisions on the basis of their circumstances. That is the most practical approach that we have encountered so far, and although it is not perfect, it has led to practical arrangements. I have already mentioned the Cinnamon Trust, the national charity that works on behalf of older people and their pets. I pay tribute to the work of the trust and its founder and chief executive, Averil Jarvis MBE. It has a network consisting of some 16,000 volunteers who help owners to care for their pets. It aims to keep owners and pets together. It provides dog-walking services, buys food for pets, and helps to keep them clean and healthy when their owners are housebound. It also temporarily fosters pets when their owners need hospital care. Its work seems to me to do a great deal to fulfil the Bill's sentiments, and I am sure hon. Members will join me in congratulating it. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Cinnamon Trust operates a register of pet-friendly care homes, which pet owners who are no longer able to live independently in their own homes can use to find suitable places. About 750 of the 18,500 care and nursing homes in England are listed as pet-friendly, although they may restrict the types of pets that they will accommodate. As we have heard today, a large dog would obviously be less likely to be admitted than a small rodent or a budgerigar.