Citizens Council (Hansard, 21 January 2002)

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisation will be used to prepare and organise meetings of the Citizens Council. [24615]

§ Mr. Hutton
I understand that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has not yet appointed an organisation to prepare and organise meetings of the Citizens Council.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if there will be a time limit imposed between ceasing to work in specified capacities and joining the Citizens Council. [24607]

§ Mr. Hutton
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is considering this matter.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which categories of desired members of the Citizens Council will be targeted by outreach selection from the electoral register. [24610]

§ Mr. Hutton
It is important that the Citizens Council reflects the range of different views of society within England and Wales. Outreach selection will be used to complement the results of open advertisement. The668W categories of members which need to he enhanced through outreach selection will become apparent once the first stage—open advertisement—is complete.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if an independent body will be responsible for evaluating the meetings of the Citizens Council. [24614]

§ Mr. Hutton
I understand that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence intends to recruit an independent body to evaluate the meetings of the Citizens Council.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many subjects Citizens Councils are expected to cover each year. [24611]

§ Mr. Hutton
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has not yet made a decision on this point.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if members of the Citizens Council will be paid travel and accommodation expenses to attend its meetings. [24613]

§ Mr. Hutton
Yes.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what briefing will be given to members of the Citizens Council which will advise NICE. [24579]

§ Mr. Hutton
The nature of the briefing will be a matter for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long people will remain in the pool of potential members of the Citizens Council; and if the requirements for membership of this pool differ from that for full members of the council. [24609]

§ Mr. Hutton
I understand that the pool of potential members will exist solely in order for members to be selected. Once the selection has taken place, the pool will cease to exist.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated annual cost to public funds will be of the new Citizens Council to advise NICE. [24612]

§ Mr. Hutton
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently considering the detailed arrangements for the Citizens Council and these will be published in the institute's business plan.

§ Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the ratio of membership between England and Wales of the members of the Citizens Council which will advise NICE; and what recruitment mechanism will be used to select members. [24580]

§ Mr. Hutton
The appointment of members to the Citizens Council is a matter for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. We are confident that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence will ensure that the constitution of the council will contain representatives from all walks of life from England and Wales. We therefore do not consider it necessary to be prescriptive about the number of members from each country.