Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 2
2
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We recommend that the Department of Health & Social Care provides us with a complete...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Department of Health & Social Care provides us with a complete assessment of the cost of providing community support for all autistic people and people with learning disabilities currently in inpatient units. Alongside this, an assessment should also be made of the cost of providing community support for all autistic people and people with learning disabilities funded by both the NHS and local authorities. Once the costs of moving care and support to the community for these individuals currently detained in inpatient units are identified, we expect the Government to provide investment which matches these costs, including initial funding for double running if needed. This may require financial transfers from the NHS to local authorities in the short term, to ensure continuity of support. We expect this information by the end of 2021 and the new system to be up and running by the end of the 2022–2023 financial year.
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Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We agree with some of this suggestion. It is hard to say how much money it would cost to move everyone out of mental health hospitals and back into their community because the money comes from many different places. Between April 2022 and March 2023 the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England will spend over £90 million in services for people with a learning disability and autistic £90 million people. This includes £21 million between April 2022 and March 2023 given to £21 million local councils in England so they can move people with a learning disability and autistic people out of mental health hospitals and back into their community. It is hard to say how much it costs to support someone to live in the community. Different people need different amounts of support. We are looking at how money is used for people's support. , We want to find more information about how this money is used in local areas.