§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the(a) resource budget, (b) administration costs and (c) staff numbers were for 2003 of the (i) Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health and (ii) Wider Health Working Group. [165121]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonFor the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH)
The budget allocation for 2003–04 was £35.4 million. This figure included £8 million for extension of community health councils from 1 April to 1 December 2003 and £3.2 million for the provision of the independent complaints advocacy service.Administrative costs amount to £5.7 million. Administrative costs have been defined as those incurred by the headquarters. All other resources contribute directly to the delivery of the patient and public involvement forums as supported by the forum support organisations and the regional office network.249WAs 2003–04 has been the Commission's first full year of operation the staffing complement has grown steadily over this period. At 1 April 2003, the CPPIH employed three permanent staff and 19 temporary members of stair. By 31 March 2004, the position was that 136 permanent members of staff and 24 temporary staff had been recruited against a total staffing compliment of 198.For the wider health working group the answer to all points for 2003–04 is nil.