§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation has been undertaken into the value for money of expenditure by district health authorities on cook-chill catering units.
§ Mr. DorrellIt is the responsibility of individual health authorities to assess and evaluate proposals for the introduction of cook-chill catering locally. They are also expected to evaluate a unit's performance against agreed standards as an integral part of the process of assessing value for money within the national health service.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he is monitoring the local implementation of the Children Act 1989 and National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 against local authorities' own definitions of need or a national notional norm; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe Department has been discussing with the local authority associations and voluntary child care organisations how best to monitor implementation of the Children Act in respect of services to children in need as defined by section 17(10) of the Children Act. This will form part of the Department's strategy for monitoring implementation of the Children Act overall. The implementation of "Caring for People" is being monitored by regional health authorities and the regional social services inspectorate on the basis of the progress review issues document issued in June 1991.