§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to consult the(a) retiring and (b) incoming chairmen of the Worcestershire acute hospitals NHS trust on their preferred date for the transfer of their responsibilities; and if he will make a statement. [25404]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 9 January 2002]: Other than setting the criteria according to which appointments are made, Ministers no longer have any direct role in the appointments process for chairs of national health service trusts. The NHS Appointments Commission now has responsibility for the appointment, training and appraisal of chairs and non-executive board members of NHS trusts, health authorities and primary care trusts.