To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish guidance on local involvement networks for local authorities; and by when he plans to require that guidance to be implemented. (191298)

The NHS Centre for Involvement (NCI) has been contracted by the Department to promote more effective patient and public involvement and consultation and to provide support, advice and guidance to stakeholders in this respect. The NCI will be producing a detailed compendium of guidance from 1 April, when local involvement networks (LINks) will come into force.

Since the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 was enacted in October last year, a great deal of support work has been done to ensure that a LINk is established in each local authority (LA) area. This has included £10,000 being allocated to each LA and the monthly issuing of newsletters designed to help local authorities plan for LINks.

In addition, in August 2007, the Department published its “Getting Ready for LINks” guidance, which set out the activities that local authorities should be undertaking in order to successfully contract with a host organisation to run its local LINk.