§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans to amend the guidelines for implementing the all-Wales strategy for the development of services for people with a mental handicap.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettThe basic guidelines on implementing the all-Wales strategy remain unchanged and are set out in the original strategy document published in March 1983.
Administrative guidance—covering for example the format and content of annual reports and of three-year forward plans under the strategy—is issued to county joint planning teams and updated each year. A copy of the latest version of the guidelines has been placed in the Library of the House. A comprehensive review of the strategy is in progress and involves wide consultation. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will consider, in the light of the review, what arrangements should be made to maintain and further develop services beyond the strategy's original 10-year term.