§ Mr. RobathanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the outcome of 275W the prior options reviews of the Public Health Laboratory Service, the National Radiological Protection Board and the National Biological Standards Board. [13897]
§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he is making for the future of the Public Health Laboratory Service; and if he will make a statement. [12778]
§ Mr. HoramMy right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced today the broad outcome of the programme of prior options reviews of public sector research establishments which also refers to the general policy on the timing of prior options reviews.
The reviews of the Public Health Laboratory Service, the National Radiological Protection Board, and the National Biological Standards Board have recommended that they should remain within the public sector and that they should each retain their present status as non-departmental public bodies of the Department of Health. They also recommended action to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, in particular through setting in place new systems for managing the bodies' research programmes to better ensure value for money and customer responsiveness; through increased market testing of research; through reviews of internal efficiency and increased market testing of management support functions; and through improved costing of work for third parties.
In addition, action should be taken to strengthen the role of the NRPB's statutory board and to improve liaison with its customers on its international work; the PHLS should continue its current rationalisation programme, further increase income generation, and consider the interface between its central public health laboratory and its communicable disease surveillance centre with a view to further rationalisation; and the NBSB should clarify objectives, and funding arrangements, for its work for the World Health Organisation, and explore the scope for closer working links with a university.
The Government have accepted these recommendations. The reviews of internal efficiency will be conducted using external consultants; they will not re-open issues already settled through the prior options process or through other recent reviews—such as that which resulted in the 1994 restructuring of PHLS—but will focus clearly on whether there is scope for increasing the efficiency of each organisation.