§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the External Working Group o a disabled children with special reference to children with palliative care needs; [102542]
(2) if he will make a statement on the task group to review the needs of children with severe disabilities and complex life-limiting, or terminal conditions. [102543]
§ Jacqui SmithThe external working group developing national service framework (NSF) standards for the ill child, which includes those with long term conditions, and the external working group on disabled children's services, are by joint working arrangements considering 455W the particular needs of children with complex life-limiting conditions and those who require palliative care.
Themes that are emerging so far, and likely to be covered, include the need for greater flexibility in service delivery and for multidisciplinary and multi-agency partnership working.
The "Children's NSF—Emerging Findings" document, to be issued shortly, will give an overview of the areas that are likely to be included in the final NSF.