§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) circulars and (b) executive letters his Department has issued in each month since May 1997. [94028]
§ Mr. DenhamThe table shows the number of(a) circulars and (b) executive letters the Department of Health has issued in each month since May 1997.
Month Circulars Executive letters 1997 May 12 3 June 4 4 July 12 2 August 16 5 September 17 4 October 26 6 November 14 6 December 22 8 1998 January 18 6 February 21 — March 40 — April 42 — May 30 — June 14 — July 27 — August 21 — September 22 — October 30 — November 34 — December 42 — 1999 January 23 — February 36 — March 48 — April 29 — May 29 — June 22 — July 34 — August 39 — September 33 — Notes:
1. Until December 1997 the Department of Health issued circulars in the following series:
Health Service Guidelines (HSG); Finance Directorate Letters (FDL); Family Health Service Letters (FHSL); Local Authority Circulars (LAC); Local Authority Social Services Letters (LASSL); Chief Inspector (CI); Family Practitioner Notices (FPN) and Professional Letters (PL).
In December FPNs were discontinued.
On 2 February 1998 ELs, HSGs, FDLs and FHSLs were replaced with a single series of management letters—Health Service Circulars (HSC). This was as part of the Department's strategy to improve written communications and in response to the recommendations in the "Seeing the Woods, Sparing the Trees" Efficiency Scrutiny.
2. The Department's Agencies occasionally publish in the above series, and also issue circulars in their own series. Between May 1997 and September 1999 Medicines Control Agency published 72 Drug Alerts and 15 Consultative Letters. Medical Devices Agency published eight Device Bulletins, two Advice Notices, 16 Hazard Notices, 94 Safety Notices and 11 Pacemaker Technical Notes.