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Mr. Hunter: May I ask the hon. Lady to extend her comments to the suggestion that I made on national management regulations? Does she see scope for those within the Government's thinking?
Ms Jackson: As I have already told the House, we shall shortly be going out to consultation on the matter. In the light of what the hon. Gentleman has just said, however, I shall pass on his concerns to my right hon. Friend. It is always possible--whatever the consultation document, and regardless of whether a particular idea is defined by Government--for recipients of the document, and others who wish to respond to it, to offer their own ideas on how our approach in addressing any specific issue may be improved.
As I said, we shall shortly be seeking views from the public and interested organisations on our proposals. Today's debate will be a contribution to the forthcoming wider debate on the procedures and processes for the network as a whole.
It being before Two o'clock, the motion for the Adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put.
21 Apr 1999 : Column 887Sitting suspended, pursuant to Standing Order No. 10 (Wednesday sittings), till half-past Two o'clock.
Oral Answers to Questions
CABINET OFFICE
The Minister was asked--
Parliamentary Ombudsman
1. Dr. Tony Wright (Cannock Chase): What plans he has to review the operation of the parliamentary ombudsman system. [80292]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Dr. Jack Cunningham): I announced to the House on 30 March that the Government were about to undertake a review of the organisation of public sector ombudsmen in England. The review, which will cover the parliamentary ombudsman system, has now commenced and is being conducted by a team in the Cabinet Office.
Dr. Wright: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that, when the ombudsman system was set up 30 years ago by a Labour Government to protect the citizen against abuses by the state, it was a major innovation, opposed by the Conservative Opposition of the day? Is it not time to review and modernise the system? Citizens should not have to go through Members of Parliament to gain access to the ombudsman system. That is not the case with the local government ombudsman or the health service ombudsman. All public bodies should be inside the scheme.
Dr. Cunningham: I agree with my hon. Friend. I recently announced the extension of the scheme to include a large number of additional public bodies. The review will be wide ranging. I am sure that the observations of my hon. Friend and others will be taken into account.
Mr. Michael Fabricant (Lichfield): Can the parliamentary ombudsman also investigate complaints from Members of Parliament? Many hon. Members on both sides are concerned about the fact that, although the Cabinet Office promised us a Freedom of Information Bill, we have heard nothing about it. Will the ombudsman be allowed to investigate that?
Dr. Cunningham: I did not realise that the hon. Gentleman had suddenly been overcome by political deafness. If he has not heard about the draft Freedom of Information Bill and its progress, he must be the only Member of Parliament who has not.
People's Panel (Public Health)
2. Mr. Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby): What research has been conducted through the people's panel into the delivery of public health in deprived communities; and if he will make a statement. [80293]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle): Research was published last October, which included questions on the public's satisfaction with general practitioners and NHS hospitals and on people's priorities for improving health.
Mr. Mitchell: Given the value of the information from the people's panel in emphasising the problems of deprivation in health and changing the targets in "Our Healthier Nation", will that information be used in determining the location and curriculum of new medical schools? Hull university is applying to establish a new medical school that will place particular emphasis on primary care and deprivation in health.
Mr. Kilfoyle: I am glad to agree with my hon. Friend in his reference to the input made by the people's panel to "Our Healthier Nation". I shall draw his comments on medical facilities outside the normal run of things, particularly in universities, to the attention of the appropriate Ministers.
Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey): Will the Minister look into the fact that there is a high incidence of smoking in most deprived communities and that the people who were polled expressed concerns about the relationship between the cost of smoking and improvements in health? One Department is responsible for the tax on cigarettes and another is responsible for dealing with the health problems caused by cigarettes. Will somebody--it might be the people's panel or the Cabinet Office--try to ensure that our tax policies are less in the interests of the Exchequer and more in the interests of improving the health of the public?
Mr. Kilfoyle: As the hon. Gentleman knows, the aim of the people's panel is to feed information through to policy making so that we reflect people's priorities. He will be pleased to know that one of the driving forces behind the recent White Paper on modernising government was the joined-up, strategic policy making and the joined-up delivery that reflects the nature of his question. He will also appreciate the work that has been piloted by the social exclusion unit to take forward that joined-up approach.
Commissioner for Public Appointments
3. Mr. Keith Vaz (Leicester, East): If he will make a statement on the work of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. [80294]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Dr. Jack Cunningham): The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Dame Rennie Fritchie, is independent of Government. She publishes a code of practice on making public appointments based on merit, audits Departments' application of her code, and investigates complaints for public bodies within her remit.
Mr. Vaz: I welcome the steps that the Government have taken to increase the diversity in their public appointments. However, does the Minister agree that there is still a lack of awareness among the public as to how those appointments are made? Will he ensure that the new
commissioner advertises vacancies and potential vacancies as widely as possible to ensure that the pool from which the appointments are made includes the widest possible cross-section of people?
Dr. Cunningham: Yes. I agree with my hon. Friend that it is important that we be able to draw on the widest possible range of experience. Only yesterday, I had similar discussions with the appropriate committee in respect of the appointment of magistrates in the Duchy of Lancaster area. It is essential that everyone should have the opportunity to volunteer for the public services that are so important to us all.
Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire): Does the commissioner take into account the political allegiance of those who are appointed? Will the right hon. Gentleman publish a list of those who have not been reappointed in the past two years and those who have and their political allegiance? Will the good lady have the chance to consider the appointment of the director-general of the BBC in that context?
Dr. Cunningham: As the hon. Gentleman knows, all public appointments are subject to the Nolan rules. As I am sure that the hon. Gentleman also knows--but for the removal of any doubt, I will remind him--that the appointment of the director-general of the BBC is a matter exclusively for the governors of the corporation.
Mr. Hilton Dawson (Lancaster and Wyre): It was a pleasure to see my right hon. Friend in the city of Lancaster yesterday to discuss public appointments on his very first visit as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. What impression did he glean from his meetings with the business and scientific community in that most glorious city?
Dr. Cunningham: It is indeed a pleasure to tell my hon. Friend that I very much enjoyed my first visit to his constituency and to the city of Lancaster to meet leading city councillors and business people and to visit Lancaster university, which I am delighted to say is one of the top 10 universities in the country in terms of its teaching and research performance.
Policy Co-ordination (Elderly People)
4. Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham): What steps he has taken to co-ordinate the work of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretaries of State for Social Security and for Health in relation to services for the elderly. [80295]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle): Co-ordinating mechanisms are provided through the Home and Social Affairs Cabinet Committee and the inter-ministerial group on older people. Our "Listening to Older People" events, which begin next month, will provide us with feedback on whether older people think that we have got our priorities right.
Dr. Cable: I express some appreciation that an effort is being made to achieve joined-up government in those matters. Will the inter-ministerial group take account of
the evidence that has been accumulated by the Royal College of Nursing, Age Concern and others that, as a result of resource constraints and rationing, particularly in the national health service and associated services, elderly people are increasingly facing discrimination purely on grounds of their age?
Mr. Kilfoyle: We take into account all the information that is disseminated during each of our meetings. That is a fine example of how the Government are partnering all sectors--including the voluntary sector and the private sector--in our deliberations and in the pilot schemes.
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire): As the Minister for the Cabinet Office co-ordinates the work of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Health in the interests of the elderly, can he shed some light on the extra £500 million a year that the NHS has been told to find to fund extra pension costs? When the Secretary of State got the extra money from the Treasury last July, did he know that he would have to find that sum? If he did, why has it come as a shock to the NHS? The chief executive of the NHS Confederation was reported in Monday's edition of The Guardian as saying:
- "I have simply never heard of it before."
Mr. Kilfoyle: There are two simple answers to the right hon. Gentleman. First, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office does an excellent co-ordinating job wherever he is called upon to take that role. Secondly, I remind the right hon. Gentleman that £21 billion extra has gone into the NHS this year.
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