§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on when the Department of Health, Social Services, and Public Safety will be implementing the Department of Health Assessment Framework in Northern Ireland. [183588]
§ Angela SmithThe Department of Health's performance assessment framework applies only to the NHS in England. Northern Ireland has its own system of integrated health and social care-the HPSS (Health and Personal Social Services). Under current arrangements, key service development priorities are set annually for the HPSS. Progress towards their achievement is formally managed and monitored by the Department, and work is now in hand to further develop the approach to HPSS performance assessment and reporting. While basing itself on the integrated nature of services in Northern Ireland, that work has been informed by the various performance assessment models that operate elsewhere in the UK.