To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a guarantee has been made to an independent sector provider that GPs will refer to them an agreed proportion of referrals for clinical assessment treatment and support services in the North West of England. (112487)

No contracts have been signed for clinical assessment, treatment and support (CATS) services in the North West of England. The commercial terms of the CATS service for Cumbria and Lancashire are still under negotiation with the preferred bidder. There are no guarantees in respect of the number of referrals. The commercial terms between the Department and the bidder are commercially sensitive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to assess the competence of the staff of independent providers in providing (a) clinical assessment treatment and support services and (b) elective surgery. (112493)

Providers must demonstrate that all workforce strategies, policies, processes and practices comply with the provisions outlined in ‘Safer Recruitment—A Guide for NHS Employers, the Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals and Standards for Better Health.’

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect upon levels of employment in NHS trusts of transferring (a) clinical assessment, treatment and support services and (b) elective surgery to the independent sector. (112500)

NHS North West is working with local primary care trusts to assess and manage the impact on acute trusts of introducing clinical assessment, treatment and support services. This includes any possible impact on national health service staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the length of the decision-making process will be on the implementation of clinical assessment, treatment and support services in Cumbria and Lancashire; (117643)

The six primary care trusts covering Cumbria and Lancashire are currently undertaking public consultation on the proposed clinical assessment, treatment and support (CATS) services for the region. This consultation ends on 9 March 2007. The joint primary care trust independent sector commissioning board is due to meet on 21 March 2007 to consider the outcome of the consultation. Further timings will be dependent on the outcome of this meeting.