To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2006, Official Report, column 2106W, on overview and scrutiny committees, why hon. Members cannot be co-opted onto OSCs. (81316)

As stated in my previous reply, 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 functions 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.

Therefore, hon. Members cannot be co-opted onto an OSC.