Personal Care at Home Bill

My Lords, I wonder whether the Minister can help us, or at least help me. I refer to the proposals made by the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, and the number of people who might move from one local authority to another, as there is a tendency for people to do in their old age, or relative old age, or when they become disabled. Quite a lot do so, either from a high-cost residential area to a lower-cost one or nearer to relatives and things of that kind. Therefore, there is bound to be a certain number of people washing backwards and forwards across local authority areas. We can only guess at those numbers but it would help us if we had at least an idea of what was in the minds of Ministers as to the cost per individual involved in this scheme. How many people do the Government think will benefit? The Government’s estimate of the cost of the whole thing is that it will be less than £650 million. I must confess that my reaction to that is "Come on, pull the other one". If the Government are going to stick to £650 million, how many people will be involved? That will give us an idea of how many of those people might be transients washing backwards and forwards across the boundaries. Is there a cap? The noble Baroness, Lady Barker, added the cost of changes to homes to make them possible for people to live in. It might not be just the cost of a stairlift; it might be a substantial lift at a cost of £15,000 or £20,000. The cost of a bathroom being adjusted can be £2,000 or £3,000. That is apart from the recurring costs. We have to have a better idea of what the Government think will be the cost per head of those people who will qualify for this care and how many of them there will be. That would help us a great deal.