§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to broaden the shortlist of candidates for the position of Chairman of Rochdale NHS Trust, beyond the proposal of the Regional NHS Executive Chair in July. [137004]
§ Mr. DenhamThe regional chair considered the names of a number of candidates on the regional register as well as those of serving non-executives from the Rochdale area who were seen to have the necessary qualities for a chair appointment. The candidates subsequently invited for interview included the current chair, Mr. Hermann Jungmayr, but he declined to be interviewed. Two candidates were eventually interviewed, and both their names were recently recommended to Ministers for possible appointment to the post. A decision on the appointment is likely to be made shortly.