§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for reducing(a) the number of and (b) the cost of quangos in the health service.
§ Mr. MalonePlans to merge district health authorities and family health services authorities into single authorities and to abolish regional health authorities on 1 April 1996 have been laid before parliament.
These changes will result in savings of approaching £150 million per year.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many local quangos there are in the health service; and how many people are involved in them in an administrative capacity;
(2) how many quangos there are in the health service (a) in each region and (b) by such smaller area as is available.
§ Mr. MaloneThe table gives details of the number of national health service bodies in the geographical areas covered by each of the eight regional health authorities.
(2) what is the budget allocated by her Department and associated agencies for each of the next five years for, and how many staff or staff hours equivalent have been allocated to achieve the objectives of, the programme for action to achieve equality or opportunity in the civil service for disabled people.
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§ Mr. SackvilleData are collected only on members of staff who are registered disabled; numbers employed as at 1 July for each of the last five years are set out in the table:
Year Number Per cent. of workforce 1990 29.0 0.6 1991 34.5 0.7 1992 74.5 1.0 1993 68.0 1.3 1994 67.0 1.45 Part-time staff counted as half units.
In addition, there were a number of other staff with a disability but who were not registered.
It is not possible to make accurate forward projections at present since the Department is undergoing reorganisation with a view to achieving a significant reduction in staffing levels. However, the Department and its associated agencies remain committed to the employment of people with a disability.
The Department draws up an annual equal opportunities action plan to address equality issues for all staff including those with a disability taking into account the objectives of the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people. A separate budget is not held for this purpose but funds are made available from relevant budgets as and when needed. The Department's equal opportunities unit has a complement of five staff. In each of the Department's agencies and the national health service executive in Leeds, a member of staff in their personnel units has responsibility for equal opportunities.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the implications of the proposed direct payments to disabled people for the future availability of local authority care services for other groups of service users and carers.
§ Mr. BowisWe propose that local social services authorities should, subject to Parliament's approval, be allowed to make direct cash payments to disabled people in lieu of community care services for which they are assessed as having a need. It is for local authorities to determine the type and range of services they provide in response to assessed needs and there is no reason why direct payments in themselves should affect the availability of care services for other groups.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if her proposal to make direct payments to disabled people will allow them to purchase care services from local authorities.
§ Mr. BowisI refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Howarth) on 24 November at columns 332–33. We will be working with the key interests in the months ahead to firm up the details of this proposal, which has been widely welcomed.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will include in her proposals on direct payments to disabled people requirements for the registration and inspection of domiciliary care.
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