Overview and Scrutiny Committees

John Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) on which occasions in the last five years local authority scrutiny panels have referred complaints against NHS trusts to her Department; and which authorities made the referrals in each case; (75544)

(2) on how many occasions in the last five years local authority scrutiny panels, having considered complaints against NHS trusts, have referred matters to her Department.

Within the last five years, there have been 13 referrals from overview and scrutiny committees (OSCs) to the Secretary of State for Health. These are shown in the table.

OSC	Date of referral
South East Kent and Thanet Community Health Councils¹	April 2002
Wiltshire OSC	October 2004
Hampshire OSC	January 2005
Merton OSC	March 2005
South Gloucestershire OSC	July 2005
Wirral OSC	July 2005
Lincolnshire OSC	July 2005
Surrey OSC	October 2005
Cambridgeshire OSC	February 2006
Suffolk OSC	March 2006
Gloucestershire OSC	March 2006
Calderdale and Kirklees Joint OSC	April 2006
Hertfordshire OSC	May 2006
¹Referral originally made under Community Health Council Regulations 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what powers overview and scrutiny committees have (a) to delay the introduction of health service changes, (b) to oppose such changes and (c) to present her with a clear proposal for further investigations. (78937)

The overview and scrutiny committee (OSC) has the power to refer decisions on substantial changes to the Secretary of State. This referral can be on the grounds of the following:

if consultation with the OSC has been inadequate; and

if the OSC does not believe the proposals for change are in the interests of the health service or local community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what powers overview and scrutiny committees have to co-opt outside expertise. (76036)

Overview and scrutiny committees (OSCs) have powers set out in the Local Government Act 2000 to co-opt non-voting members onto OSCs. These co-opted members can be

a member of a committee of the county council or another local authority, for the purposes of relevant function of the committee in relation to the county council; or

a member of a committee of the county council, for the purposes of relevant functions of the committee in relation to another local authority.

This power enables county councils to co-opt members of OSCs from district councils to participate as full members of the OSC considering health services.

In addition to formal co-option, OSCs can ask people, such as members of patient forums, to participate in other ways, for example, by providing information to the committee, attending as an expert witness, or acting as an adviser to the committee.

Volume 447: debated on Thursday 22 June 2006