§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many regional reviews during the last six years have involved services for children; whether there will be any reviews in the near future concerning the implementation of circular HM(71)22; and whether his Department will examine the regional strategic plans with the needs of children in hospital in mind.
§ Mr. John PattenRegional reviews are not intended to carry out monitoring of particular questions in every region but are used for follow up major strategic issues selectively with individual regions, and the consequent action plans which should reflect local priorities. It is not possible to say to what extent implementation of HM(71)22 will feature in future reviews—this will depend on the nature of the major issues in particular regions. Officials in the Department examine all regional strategic plans to ensure that proposed developments in services for children in hospital are consistent with Departmental policy.