HC Deb 22 February 1995 vol 255 c192W
Mr. Sweeny

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will make an announcement about the reorganisation of community health councils in Wales.

Mr. Redwood

I am grateful to all those who responded to our consultation paper last year regarding the reorganisation of community health councils in Wales. Having considered all the responses, I am now able to announce revised proposals.

CHCs have an important role in ensuring that the health service is responsive to patients' needs, and attentive to their complaints.

I am no advocate of reorganisation for its own sake, but changes to health authority boundaries will make some adjustments necessary. Where CHC and local authorities boundaries can be matched up easily it is worthwhile to do this too, but where it would mean redrawing the map completely and disturbing arrangements that work well at present it is not.

I have decided on boundary changes that will be useful but will not cause unnecessary upheaval. I want CHCs to be able to concentrate on their job in the months ahead, not worry about reorganising themselves.

Subject to consideration of any further representations I may receive, I shall therefore propose regulations to bring about, by 1 April 1996, the boundary and name changes listed as follows, and neither to create any wholly new nor merge any existing CHCs.

(a) Minor boundary changes between the following CHCs:

  • South Clwyd and Montgomery CHCs;
  • Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend CHCs;
  • Swansea-Lliw Valley and Neath-Port Talbot CHCs;
  • Cardiff and East Glamorgan CHCs;

Following the boundary changes, the CHCs will correspond with the new LA areas.

  1. (b) Transfer the responsibility for representing people in the present Borough of Islwyn from South Gwent CHC to Rhymney Valley CHC to create a new CHC covering all of the new Caerphilly LA area:
  2. (c) Transfer responsibility for most of the present Borough of Colwyn from North Clwyd CHC to Aberconwy CHC to create a new CHC covering all of the new Aberconwy and Colwyn LA area: