§ Mr. MerchantTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities have filed reports under the AIDS (Control) Act 1987 for the last financial year; and whether and where these reports are available for public examination.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe AIDS (Control) Act 1987 requires reports to be made to each regional health authority by the district health authority for each district in the region and to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State by the regional health authority. The Act also requires reports to be published by the authority by which they are made.
Information on the numbers of DHAs which have submitted their reports is not therefore available centrally.
§ Mr. MerchantTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will issue guidance to health and local authorities on prompt payment for the provision of HIV/AIDS related services to voluntary sector organisations with which they have contracted.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe national health service executive issued a requirement to health authorities on 28 October 1994 to comply with the Confederation of British Industry prompt payment code. Additionally, health authorities were required to set out their payment policies and publish details of their payment performance in their annual reports and publicise their arrangements for handling complaints about failure to pay on time. A copy of FDL(94)67 is available in the Library.
Issuing guidance to local authorities on prompt payment is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.
327WWe have no plans to issue guidance specifically about payment for HIV/AIDS-related services.