§ 11. Helen Jones (Warrington, North)What progress has been made in appointing more people from the Warrington, North constituency to serve on health authorities and trusts. [26370]
§ Ms BlearsSorry, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The National Health Service Appointments Commission aims at ensuring that board membership reflects the geographical areas served by the bodies concerned. The criteria issued by the commission state that it is essential that candidates must live in the area served by the health authority or NHS trust—or in the case of a patient care trust, be registered as a patient of a general practitioner within the PCT area.
§ Helen JonesMy hon. Friend is possibly looking for the word "none" in her answer. The health service cannot meet the needs of those whom it is meant to serve unless people in the most health-deprived areas are represented in decision making. It is nonsense for the commission to 742 argue that it cannot find suitable candidates to serve on NHS bodies from a constituency of more than 72,000 voters. My constituency and others like it have been badly let down. Most of the commission's recent appointments were from the wealthier areas of Warrington, South. It is a case of good chaps appointing other good chaps, and the golf club rules. What will the Minister do to redress inequality?
§ Ms BlearsMy hon. Friend raises an important point. If the health service is to be redesigned around patient needs, it is crucial that a proper cross-section of the public serve on boards. The new Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health will be charged with finding people who want to serve on health bodies, patients forums and panels—and in the governance of future health service bodies—to make sure that people from a much wider range of social backgrounds become involved. I am concerned about that matter and mean to make progress. Considerable progress has been made in recent years in appointing not just women but people with disabilities and from a range of ethnic backgrounds, but there is much more to be done.
§ Mr. Oliver Heald (North-East Hertfordshire)Is the pattern of appointments to health bodies that serve Warrington, North the same nationally? The commission has appointed five times more Labour supporters than Conservatives or Liberal Democrats to NHS bodies—140 Labour, 30 Conservative and 31 Liberal Democrats. Those are the Minister's own figures, given in a parliamentary answer dated 8 January. What will the Minister do about the culture of Labour cronyism?
§ Ms BlearsThe commission does indeed appoint people on merit—people who properly represent their communities. The Commissioner for Public Appointments has just reviewed the appointments to primary care trusts, and she said that there was
no significant difference between the political activity of applicants and the political activity of the appointees".She concluded that there wasno evidence of any political bias in the appointments process".I am afraid, therefore, that Conservative Members will really have to do better and ensure that the appointments that are made on merit perhaps include some people with the ability to represent their communities.