§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department plans to hold strategic health authorities to account for the performance of the NHS within their area as set out in paragraph 7.2 of the document, Improvement, Expansion & Reform: The Next Three Years. [75715]
§ Mr. HuttonFrom 2003–04, strategic health authorities (StHAs) will be required to produce local delivery plans, which will set out over a three year period their contribution towards the target and capacity assumptions detailed inImprovement, Expansion & Reform: The Next Three Years. Departmental monitoring systems will be aligned with these targets and assumptions to allow for regular monitoring and hold to account StHAs.
In addition Directorates of Health and Social Care are setting in place a series of regular performance reviews to manage performance with StHAs. These arrangements will be mirrored at StHA, primary care trust and trust levels.