HL Deb 10 April 2001 vol 624 cc178-9WA
Earl Howe

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 27 September 2000 (WA 186–87) that the annual reports for the new regional specialised commissioning arrangements will be published locally in mid-September 2000 and the annual report of the National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group in early October 2000:

  1. (a) on which date these reports were placed in the Library of the House;
  2. (b) to which organisations the reports were disseminated and when;
  3. (c) what comments on the reports were received by the National Health Service specialised services users organisations;
  4. (d) what follow-up action has been taken since that time; and
  5. (e) what plans they have to develop specialised services and improve patients' access to them. [HL1528]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)

Copies of the annual reports for the regional specialised commissioning groups (RSCGs) and the Annual Report for the National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group (NSCAG) were placed in the Library of the House of Lords on 10 April 2001.

Each region disseminated its RSCG annual report to a local regional audience during October and November 2000. Copies of the NSCAG Annual Report, which contained a chapter summarising the main lessons learned from the RSCG's annual reports, were disseminated in November and December 2000 to a wide audience, including several hundred voluntary and professional organisations.

We have no information on comments received by the NHS specialised services users organisations on the annual reports.

The 2000–01 RSCG annual reports, due to be published this autumn, will give an account of the second year of operation, including follow-up action from year one and plans to develop specialised services and improve patients' access.

The 2000–01 NSCAG (fifth) Annual Report, the fifth NSCAG report, due to be published this autumn, will give an account of those highly specialised services commissioned nationally.