Personal Care at Home Bill

My Lords, this amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Warner, supported by the noble Baronesses, Lady Barker and Lady Murphy, and the noble Earl, Lord Howe, would require an independent review of the affordability of the provisions contained in the Bill to be carried out and a report laid before Parliament before the Bill could come into force. I fear that my remarks will be tedious, as I am about to say pretty much what I have said on the two previous occasions when we discussed such an amendment. Given the considerable scrutiny that this Bill and the costs of measures enabled by it have had in the other place and more widely, we feel that this amendment is not necessary. I do not intend to burden the House by repeating for the third time the discussions that we had on Second Reading and in Committee. We have looked in detail at the concerns raised by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. We remain confident that our estimates, of £670 million, are robust, based on the independent analysis by the London School of Economics. Clearly, we disagree with ADASS and its interpretation of the discussions. I can only repeat what we believe to be the case. The ADASS survey, by the association’s own admission, overestimated some aspects of the costs through a misunderstanding of the Government’s figures. I would like to clarify that it is correct that ADASS has not admitted to this position publicly. This was a position that it took in informal discussions with officials and the ADASS resources committee. While there is no official record of these conversations, we think that it is disappointing that the association is now distancing itself from what we believe was a previously agreed position. However, we have listened to the concerns expressed. In the government response to the consultation, we have provided additional clarity about the £210 million of additional funding that will be allocated for the coming year, covering the six months from October 2010 to March 2011. We have circulated a letter to all councils about this so that they are now clear about exactly how much money they can expect. They can now make plans using these indicative allocation figures, which will be subject to final confirmation in June. We are confident in our costings and have been open and transparent about the funding available with our stakeholders. In addition, we are fully committed to reviewing the costs of this scheme within 12 to 18 months of implementation and we will be working closely with local government representatives to ensure successful implementation. We are committed to collecting data from October and we will work with the councils to ensure that they have the necessary information. Given that, we cannot see how an independent review prior to implementation would achieve anything. Where there is uncertainty—and we have been open and transparent about the uncertainties that exist—it is because the evidence is not there yet. Much of this involves assumptions about how people will behave and we cannot know whether they are right until the scheme is in place. We will need to work with councils to collect that information from the start, once the scheme is in place, and respond accordingly. That is the commitment that we have made. The net effect of this amendment would be to delay or jeopardise the implementation of this policy in October and the assistance that it would afford to the most vulnerable who need it. I therefore ask that the amendment be withdrawn or, failing that, be opposed.