Mr. Bernard Gloster:

If we hit the 22 million hours target, I will be delighted, because that will mean the pay adjustment in the rate has worked. We would then work on from there. That is the first thing.

Second, in agreement with the Department of Health in the final approach to the service plan, I am hoping we will be able to take a slightly different approach to how we count directly employed home health staff as distinct from the normal way we count all of the full-time staff because of their part-time nature and so on. I would much rather we revisit the available money for home support and how many hours that will buy us, and we can employ for those hours, as opposed to a WTE number. That is something we have to work through with the Department and the implications of it. The reality is we will not hit the 22 million target easily. However, if we do, then of course we will see what we can do to move beyond that.

I take the Deputy’s point. In any capped situation that affects the numbers of staff available, that does have an impact.