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Care Homes

The hon. Gentleman is right to challenge the Minister. I am sure that the Minister will respond by demonstrating that his head is not in the sand, and that he is as anxious as all of us to ensure that we use the data that we have to deliver a strategy that bears down on the problem of malnutrition. I hope that he says that. On the personal expense allowance, I asked a written parliamentary question of the Minister's predecessor in January 2008 about whether he would undertake a consultation on the level and adequacy of the personal expense allowance, which is paid to people in care homes, who are in receipt of a pension that they must forgo because of the rules for determining state support. They are left with £21.15 a week—just £3 a day—to cover the costs of toiletries and food, which are the little things that make the difference between being alive and having a life. The question is whether the proposed 75p a week increase is sufficient to meet the needs and dignity of 250,000 vulnerable and frail adults who live in care homes throughout the country. I do not think that it is, and Age Concern and many others in the movement campaigning on this issue agree with me. Such groups feel a sense of betrayal, because they were offered a clear undertaking by the previous Minister, which was reaffirmed in June last year, as reported in Hansard, that there would be such a consultation, only to see that snatched away by the Minister who is here today. The opportunity for the Minister to learn more about the views, experiences and feelings of those who have to live on £21.15 has been denied. I hope that, although it may be too late to address the increase from 1 April, the Minister might use the opportunity in the coming months to embark on that dialogue with people who have been lobbying him on this issue, so that we can have a more meaningful debate, a more meaningful consideration and a proper review of the personal expense allowance. It is not only me and Age Concern who are concerned. In a report published on 4 March, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation identified the doubling of the personal expenses allowance as a way of giving more dignity to people in care homes supported by local authorities. That is right—it is a small price to pay for dignity. This is an important thing that we should be doing, and it is a great shame that the Minister has not done it. I hope that he will respond positively to that point and the others raised in this debate.