Commission for Patient and Public Involvement (Hansard, 18 November 2003)

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement will have new structures in place and working by 1 December 2003. [135637]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) is well on track to meeting its statutory obligations to ensure all its new structures are in place and working by the time of the abolition of the community health councils on 1 December 2003. The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service has been in place since 1 September 2003, supporting individuals who wish to pursue a complaint against the national health service. Recruitment to patients' forums is progressing well, with national and local advertising campaigns eliciting a large number of applications leading the CPPIH to have every confidence in being able to achieve full forum coverage by 1 December 2003.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Public Bodies (Access to Meetings) Act 1960 applies to the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health. [134583]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The Public Bodies (Access to Meetings) Act 1960 does not apply to the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH), which was also the case with the community health councils.
The NHS Reform and Healthcare Professions Act 2002 requires the CPPIH to adopt the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 (part v), in respect of access to public meetings. These requirements have been applied and appropriately modified under the CPPIH's Membership and Procedures Regulations 2002.