To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints about care in the national health service are under investigation by the Healthcare Commission; and what the average length of time between the start of an investigation and the publication of a report on it has been in the last 12 months. (180164)

As at 17 January 2008, the Healthcare Commission had 1,795 open independent reviews about national health service care. This compares with approximately 4,000 at the same time in 2007. At the end of December 2007, the average length of time for independent reviews was less than four months; this compares with 7.2 months at the end of December 2006.