To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what central monitoring process will be used by his Department to monitor the deep cleaning of all hospitals over the next year; (160251)

There are no plans to monitor centrally the deep cleaning of hospitals. Arrangements for the programme are entirely a matter for local determination in discussions between trusts and their strategic health authority which will be allocating funding. There are also no plans to assess the effectiveness of deep-cleaning. Undertaking deep-clean is just one of a number of approaches trusts may take in tackling healthcare associated infections, and isolating the contribution of any one approach to assess its effectiveness would require activity in all others to cease.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the first programme of hospital deep cleaning will commence; when he expects it to be completed; when the programme will be evaluated in order for the commencement of a second programme; and if he will make a statement. (159941)

The deep-cleaning programme announced by the Prime Minister in September 2007 will take place between now and the end of the financial year.

There are many potential benefits to deep cleaning, and these are dependent on the particular needs of each hospital. Details of the programme, including evaluation, will be decided locally and monitored by strategic health authorities.