§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the progress made by primary care trusts in carrying out their roles; and if he will make a statement; [88099]
(2) whether his Department has carried out research into the effectiveness of primary care trusts in carrying out their roles. [88100]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answers 19 December 2002.1 In April 1999 the Department commissioned the national primary care research and development centre (NPCRDC) at Manchester University and the King's Fund to undertake a longitudinal survey (the Tracker Survey), of a representative sample of primary care groups and trusts over their first three years of development.
The research has concluded that primary care groups and trusts have continued to build on their early achievements in establishing infrastructures and their capacity to improve services. They have continued to improve access to care, extend the range of services 205W available in primary care settings and raise quality standards. The reports are available on the NPCRDC website at: www.nperdc.man.ac.uk
The national primary and care trust development programme (NatPaCT) has also been working with primary care trusts (PCTs) to develop a competency framework as a self-assessment tool to help PCTs assess their organisational competence to deliver the National Health Service agenda. It provides guidance on organisational and personal competencies. The NatPaCT programme and competency framework has been made available to all PCTs and can also be downloaded from the NatPaCT website at: www.natpact.nhs.uk
§ Dr. Richard TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the Diabetes National Service Framework Delivery Strategy before primary care trusts plan their expenditure for future years. [88849]
§ Mr. LammyWe shall be publishing the delivery strategy for the diabetes national service framework in the next few weeks.