HC Deb 14 December 1995 vol 268 cc810-1W
Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the public information lines under the jurisdiction of his Department; what bodies have carried out these assessments; and what has been the cost of these to his Department. [4231]

Mr. Horam

[holding answer 6 December 1995]: Examination of the effectiveness of public information lines under the jurisdiction of the Department is not conducted routinely by outside bodies as an assessment is usually made from the result of responses. However, two reviews have been conducted in recent years on individual helplines.

In 1993, Price Waterhouse undertook a fundamental review of the national HIV/AIDS helpline, at a cost of nearly £40,000, and examined the need for related drugs and sexually transmitted diseases services. Their report concluded

telephone helpline services for HIV/AIDS, other STDs and drugs can be justified at a cost effective component of prevention services".

Following the report's recommendations, a tendering exercise was carried out to establish operationally integrated national helplines for HIV/AIDS and drugs.

In 1994, the NHS executive commissioned Insight Management Consultants to undertake an evaluation of the regional health information services, at a cost of £20,000. It reported back to the NHS executive in November 1994.

Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many public information lines his Department operates; how many calls have been made to those lines; what has been the cost of them; and what audit procedures are in place to monitor these costs. [4239]

Mr. Horam

[holding answer 6 December 1995]: There are eight main information lines falling under the Department's jurisdiction for which a total of 1,863,463 calls have been received at a cost to the Department of £10,299.124. Where applicable, the Central Office of Information carries out the following procedures to monitor the costs:

  1. (i) COI auditors regularly inspect suppliers' books, working practices and cost charging procedures.
  2. (ii) At the start of any new campaign, COI goes out to tender to a number of already approved suppliers to ensure the selection of the most cost-effective company to handle responses.
  3. (iii) Due to its extensive use of British Telecom facilities, COI has achieved volume discounts of approximately 46 per cent. (value £108,717) on its BT charges since April 1995.
  4. (iv) In addition, COI obtains negotiated discounts from its telephone marketing suppliers.