§ John CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to promote wider use of conciliation in handling complaints against the NHS. [49941]
§ Ms BlearsConciliation is a positive mechanism for resolving complaints at an early stage. The NHS complaints procedure evaluation report recommended that wider use of conciliation should be encouraged and we are currently considering how best to achieve this as part of our broader reforms to the NHS complaints procedure.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints were registered against his Department and its predecessor Departments in(a) 1990 to 1996 and (b) 1997 to 2002; how many are current; and what proportion were (i) taken up and (ii) upheld by the Parliamentary Ombudsman in those periods. [51586]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 22 April 2002]: The information relating to complaints registered against the Department can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on complaints made to the Parliamentary Ombudsman is contained in the Ombudsman's annual reports, copies of which are held in the Library, and from 1997–98 on the Ombudsman's website at www.ombudsman.org.uk/pca/document/part01/index.