§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the(a) criteria which the NHS Appointments Commission must apply to making appointments and (b) membership targets which they have been set. [4186]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 18 July 2001]: The criteria to be applied by the new National Health Service Appointments Commission are set out in the information pack sent by the Commission to all potential applicants. Copies of the information pack will be placed in the Library.
New, more ambitious, equal opportunities goals and objectives for all public appointments to NHS boards, special health authorities and Department of Health non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) were announced today. Full details will be placed in the Library.
Although Ministers are no longer directly responsible for making NHS appointments, we have set the Commission for Public Appointments equal opportunities goals and objectives which we will expect to see fully achieved by the end of 2004. While all appointments will be made on merit, we will expect the Commission to continue the progress already made in making NHS boards more representative of the communities they serve.
We have made huge strides over recent years in increasing the proportion of women and black and ethnic minority candidates appointed to NHS boards. 50 per cent. of all NHS board members are now women, and 12 per cent. are black or from ethnic minorities. This compares with figures of only 39 per cent. and 5 per cent. at the time of the 1997 general election. As a result, the boards of these bodies are now far more representative of the communities they serve.
Huge improvements have also been made in the representative nature of appointments to national bodies, with 37 per cent. of those appointed to Department of Health special health authorities and NDPBs now being women, and 15 per cent. being black or from ethnic minorities.