1 Introduction
1. The Health Committee consists of eleven Members
of Parliament: ten drawn from the three largest parties and one
Independent Member.[1]
The Committee's role is to examine the expenditure, administration
and policy of the Department of Health (DH) and its associated
public bodies. This is a considerable task: the Department is
responsible for the stewardship of nearly £100 billion of
public funds; most of this money is spent by the National Health
Service (NHS), which employs 1.3 million staff in more than 300
organisations.[2] The Department
is also responsible for a range of other activities, including
oversight of a number of important Non-Departmental Public Bodies
and other arm's length bodies.
2. In carrying out our work we aim to undertake
detailed inquiries into major policy issues, examine how the DH
spends its vast budget, and retain the flexibility to respond
to emerging developments in health policy. Some of our inquiries
examine Government proposals, others seek to set the agenda, looking
at neglected topics. Our work on these areas is discussed below
in Chapter 2 (under the heading Objective A).
3. During 2009 we published the following Reports
at the conclusion of our inquiries (the Government responses are
shown in brackets):
| First Report
Second Report
Third Report
Fourth Report
Fifth Report
Sixth Report
Seventh Report
| NHS Next Stage Review
Work of the Committee 2007-08
Health Inequalities
Top-up fees
The use of management consultants by the NHS and the Department of Health
Patient Safety
The Appointment of the Chair of the Foods Standards Agency
| HC 53 (Cm 7558)
HC 193
HC 286 (Cm 7621)
HC 194 (Cm 7649)
HC 28 (Cm 7683)
HC 151 (Cm 7709)
HC 856
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4. We also hold one-off evidence sessions with ministers and
officials. For instance, in March 2009 we took evidence from the
then Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson MP, together
with the Chief Executive of the NHS and the DH Permanent Secretary.
The session focused on the operating framework for the NHS in
England, allowing the Committee the opportunity to pose questions
on a number of different policy areas.
5. Financial scrutiny of health expenditure is a major part
of our work. Our annual inquiry based on our Public Expenditure
Questionnaire (PEQ), which includes an evidence session with
senior officials, remains at the heart of this scrutiny. However,
we also look at expenditure in other inquiries such as our scrutiny
of the use of management consultants by the NHS and the DH, and
our examination of top-up fees. This aspect of our work is outlined
below under Objective B in Chapter Two.
6. In undertaking our work we pay careful attention to examining
the administration of the Department. We look at its effectiveness
in meeting Public Service Agreements (PSAs) and targets. We monitor
its associated public bodies, examine the implementation of major
policy initiatives and scrutinise major appointments. For instance,
in July 2009 we held a pre-appointment hearing with the Chair-elect
of the Food Standards Agency, Lord Rooker. This was our second
pre-appointment hearing since the mechanism for Select Committees
to scrutinise key public appointments was established by the Liaison
Committee in 2008.[3] This
is discussed further under Objective C below.
7. An important part of our work is assisting the House in
its role in holding the Government to account. A number of debates
on our reports were held both on the floor of the House and in
Westminster Hall. More information on this is provided below under
Objective D.
8. While inquiries into specific topics form the bulk of the
Committee's work, the scope of our activity is wider. On Monday
afternoons the Chairman and other Members of the Committee meet
informally with a wide range of people and organisations with
an interest in health-related subjects.[4]
In addition, the Committee has undertaken a number of visits to
health establishments both in the UK and overseas to receive briefings
from relevant experts, and to assess the quality of services first
hand.
9. We are keen to follow-up recommendations made in reports
in previous sessions and we often do this during our one-off evidence
sessions, such as the one with the then Secretary of State, Alan
Johnson MP, in March 2009. In this session we sought updates on
progress in a number of different policy areas. It is our intention
to hold similar one-off evidence sessions in 2010, subject to
there being sufficient time before the General Election. In addition,
progress on implementing recommendations is pursued during major
inquiries (for example, in our health inequalities inquiry we
followed recommendations about obesity and food labelling made
in previous reports), and in subsequent correspondence with the
Department. Our methods of working are outlined in Chapter Three.
10. We received help in our inquiries from the National Audit
Office, and the House of Commons Library and Scrutiny Unit. We
are grateful to Imperial College London, from whom we commissioned
a survey on Patient Safety and we have benefited enormously from
the expertise of our specialist advisers.
11. We have also continued to enjoy positive relations with
the Department of Health. Ministers and officials have been helpful
and attended evidence sessions when requested. We are particularly
grateful to Tim Elms and his colleagues who work in the parliamentary
section of the Department, and all those officials who worked
on the compilation of the PEQ. However, we have had some concerns
about the Government's news management; on the day we published
our report on Health inequalities, the Chief Medical Officer's
report which recommended introducing a minimum price for alcohol
was leaked to the press and the proposal was immediately condemned
by a member of the Cabinet, prompting a great deal of news coverage.
This may have been a coincidence; we hope so.
12. Statistical information about the Committee's work is
published in Annex 3.
1 Committee membership is comprised of six Labour,
three Conservative, one Liberal Democrat, and the Independent
Member for Wyre Forest. Back
2
Department of Health Departmental Report 2009 (CM 7593) Back
3
Liaison Committee, First report of Session 2007-08, Pre-appointment
hearing by select committees, HC 384 Back
4
A list of the meetings is shown in Annex 4. Back
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