Health Boards

HC Deb 24 February 1994 vol 238 c440W

Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will request health boards and trusts to open their meetings to the public.

Mr. Stewart

The meetings of health boards are subject to the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 which provides that meetings should be open to the public, but that the public may be excluded from the whole or part of a meeting because of the confidential or other special nature of the business to be discussed.

NHS trusts are required to have one public meeting a year in accordance with the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. In addition, many NHS trusts have developed programmes of public meetings arid regular meetings with local health councils.