Health Services: Standards

John Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the support and development framework for commissioners developed by strategic health authorities.

Mr. Bradshaw
Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are leading on the support and development of World Class Commissioning locally. Programmes and frameworks will be determined locally by an assessment of needs in their primary care trusts. The Department does not hold the details of SHA frameworks.

John Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on modernising the regulation of healthcare workers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Bradshaw
The Extending Professional Regulation Working Group is developing criteria to assess whether new groups of health care professionals should be brought into a system of regulation. Following a successful event in November 2008 with a wide variety of stakeholders, a report on next steps is currently being drafted for consideration by Ministers. This report is due for completion shortly.