§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral statement of 1 March 1999,Official Report, columns 741–43, concerning the royal commission on long-term care, if he will set out the timetable he plans to follow for the public debate on the recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [75749]
§ Mr. HuttonAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State outlined in his statement to Parliament, the royal commission has produced a very detailed report, in which the commissioners themselves call for an informed debate on their recommendations. We expect that debate, which has already begun, to be an on-going one and to inform decisions we take on the commission's recommendations.