To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to ensure that the Commission for Public Patient Involvement in Health will evaluate and learn from the trial Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service. [124401]
The Department of Health has commissioned a final evaluation exercise of the independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) pilots that have been running since 1 September 2002.A report will be published at the beginning of October 2003 and presented to the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) that has the function (under the NHS Reform and Healthcai e Professions Act 2002) to consult on ICASstandards and monitor provision.Feedback from the ICAS pilots has informed the ICAS service that the Department of Health will commission for provision from 1 September 2003.