§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health will be able to provide legal advice to patient forums; and whether it will be specifically funded to do so. [77423]
§ Mr. LammyThe Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health will be able to provide legal advice to patients' forums. This is within the commission's function of providing advice and assistance to patients' forums.
It will be for the commission to determine how it spends the money allocated to it—this will be set out in the annual business plan that it produces.
§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to provide local premises for patient forums in England; and if he will make a statement. [77426]
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§ Mr. LammyIt is the responsibility of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health to decide where patients' forums in England, and the staff supporting them, should best be located to enable them to discharge their functions. To assist the commission in doing so, a change assessment group is being set up for each strategic health authority (StHA) area. It will comprise stakeholders such as the national health service, community health councils, local Government and local voluntary organisations; and will consider issues such as:
- Mapping of how the NHS is arranged within the StHA area
- Demography
- Relationship between the NHS and local Government
- Recruitment
- ICAS provision
- Accommodation.
All the information above will help to inform the commission where the most appropriate accommodation will need to be located—in terms of the NHS, the nature of populations, and in relation to other relevant services. It will also enable the commission to form a clear picture of the nature, type and volume of work that will need to be undertaken by the patients' forums for that area and by the staff supporting them.
§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of staff required to be employed in patient forums to replace community health councils; what his estimate is of the annual cost of running patient forums in England; and if he will make a statement. [77427]
§ Mr. LammyThe final outcome of the current spending review is not yet known. It is therefore not possible to discuss detailed funding arrangements for patients' forums and the Commission for 2003–04.
The Commission's chair designate and her interim team, along with the Department, are still considering potential structures for the organisation of and staffing levels for patients' forums. The level of funding available for the Commission and patients' forums will be a key determinant of this, so, as yet, staffing levels have not been finalised.
It should also be noted that staff working in patient advice and liaison services, staff in local authorities supporting overview and scrutiny committees and other staff that will be commissioned by patients' forums to provide independent complaints advocacy support will also undertake some of the functions currently carried out by community health councils.