§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each of the research units which have been subject to peer review, mentioned in her answer of 30 June 1994,Official Report, column 674, the date of the site visit, the date when the report of the review was sent to the unit, the date when a decision was made about the future of the unit and whether the Department will continue the unit and the date on which the unit's current contract ends.
§ Mr. MaloneI refer the right hon. Member to the reply, I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor and Maidenhead (Mr. Trend) on 12 January,Official Report, columns 171–72. All the units have current contracts which will be renewed over the coming months. The dates of the site visits and when the report were sent to the units are given in the table.
317W
Site visit Report to unit Dartington Social Research Unit April 1994 July 1994 Personal Social Services Research Unit April 1994 September 1994 Cancer Screening Evaluation Unit October 1993 April 1994 Clinical Operational Research Unit November 1993 April 1994 Social Medicine and Health Services Research Unit July 1993 January 1994 Thomas Coram Research Unit March 1994 July 1994 Centre for Primary Care Research July 1993 November 1993 National Institute for Social Work October 1993 March 1994 Childhood Cancer Research Group October 1991 September 1992
Site visit Report to unit National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit June 1993 November 1993 Medical Care Research Unit October 1992 January 1993 Centre for Health Economics July 1994 * Social Policy Research Unit January 1994 July 1994 * To be sent this month.
§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in the establishment of the pilot research centre in Manchester referred to in her answer of 15 July 1994,Official Report, column 811; how many academic and non-academic staff were in post on 1 December; how many of these had contracts of (a) three years or less, (b) four or five years and (c) more than five years in duration; and who were the members of the steering group established to oversee the work of the centre and its terms of reference.
§ Mr. MaloneVery good progress is being made in establishing the Manchester centre for research and development in primary health care. The Department's director of research and development will shortly be writing to a number of academic and service advisors inviting them to serve as members of the steering group for the centre. The terms of reference for the steering group will be agreed at the first meeting. The numbers of staff employed at the centre, and the terms and conditions of their individual contracts, are matters for the University of Manchester as their employer.