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Ms Ward: Will my hon. Friend assure me that he will not allow the proposals to be acted on until the health authority has answered the genuine points that have been raised by members of the public and the local authority and until it has investigated every other option, which it has so far failed to do?
Mr. Milburn: I shall speak about that in a moment. In the consultation process--in west Hertfordshire or anywhere else--I expect those who play a decision- making role in the NHS to listen seriously to what concerned patients, organisations and communities say. Inevitably, difficult decisions have to be taken, but I expect to see evidence that local concerns have been analysed extremely carefully.
Any proposal for local hospital developments must be part and parcel of a properly worked through local health plan to deliver quality and sustainable services. There have been far too many cases of ad hoc hospital developments, which have proved to be unsustainable precisely because they were not considered as part of the local configuration of services.
There is no final agreed plan for the make-up of local hospital or broader health services in west Hertfordshire. The health authority has consulted widely on its radical proposals for changes to hospital services. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead is aware, the health authority agreed at its public meeting on 30 October to take a staged approach in changing local health services. That was in response to the strength of local feeling and to the need to provide further information on the authority's proposals. Indeed, he and my hon. Friend the Member for Watford have reflected those concerns today.
As I understand the position, the South-West Hertfordshire community health council will formally object to the proposals, so the matter will be referred to Ministers. I am sure that my hon. Friends will understand that my position as a Minister prevents me from commenting on the proposals at the moment. If the local community health council formally objects to the proposals that the health authority adopts after the consultation period, the matter will be referred to me for a decision.
I assure my hon. Friends that the Department of Health is fully committed to the provision of high-quality, up-to-date treatment in a modern and responsive health service. If the matter is referred, Ministers will uphold the health authority's decision only if we are satisfied that adequate alternative services are available. I have heard what my hon. Friends have said and I assure them that their points will be borne fully in mind when we consider the matter. I also give the specific assurance that I will not approve any proposal through the CPAG process for a new hospital until Ministers have considered the make up of health services in the area.
I have listened carefully to what my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead and others have said. I know that their concerns are shared by many people in the community. Difficult decisions have to be taken, not least because of the financial problems that the previous Government left in the health service.
My hon. Friend also knows that the NHS in west Hertfordshire and elsewhere cannot stand still. Progress in medical technology and in doctors' training and the alterations in our population and in public expectations are all driving change. No change is not an option for the NHS. Our job is to ensure that change delivers improvements in the care and treatment of patients. I assure him that any proposals for change in west Hertfordshire that the Government consider will be judged against that criterion.
It being Two o'clock, the motion for the Adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put.
Sitting suspended, pursuant to Standing Order No. 10 (Wednesday sittings), till half-past Two o'clock.
Ordered,
1. Mr. Ben Chapman (Wirral, South):
What plans he has to extend the use of new technologies by public services to improve their performance and allow greater access by the public. [58911]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle):
I am pleased to announce that a contract has been signed with Cable and Wireless for delivering the xGSI, an extension to the Government secure intranet allowing for more highly classified networks to connect to it. The xGSI is a major breakthrough in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of how Departments and agencies can work together. From now on, it will be increasingly possible for the Government to conduct business over the Government secure intranet in more secure and cost-effective ways that will open up the possibility for greater electronic access to Government by both the public and the business community.
Mr. Chapman:
I thank my hon. Friend, who is no doubt aware that the use of information technology in the public sector is a vast and still largely untapped means for the ordinary person to communicate with the Government and the public sector in general. Will he assure me that all possible steps will be taken to ensure that the ever-evolving technology is kept pace with and that the private sector--and not only Cable and Wireless--is appropriately engaged?
Mr. Kilfoyle:
I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. Indeed, I introduced the Computer Industry Consultative Committee at a conference at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre on 2 November, to maintain the dialogue between the industry and ourselves. Through the central information technology unit and the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency, both of which operate within the Cabinet Office, we are in day-to-day contact with new developments in the industry.
Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst):
When this sexy network is completed, will the wires lead into the present office of the Minister for the Cabinet Office, or into a new office of considerable dimensions and cost? Perhaps the Minister could share that information with us.
Mr. Kilfoyle:
The right hon. Gentleman is more than a little out of date, as a question was answered on that very subject yesterday--Official Report, column 452. He demeans the serious question of how the Government communicate among themselves and with others. We seriously intend to take all measures necessary to ensure that we can do so effectively. I am sure that he is aware that the proposal to consolidate from seven buildings into one in Admiralty buildings preceded the advent of the
2. Dr. Tony Wright (Cannock Chase):
If he will make a statement on the responsibilities of the Cabinet Office in respect of the Government's policies for constitutional reform. [58912]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Dr. Jack Cunningham):
The Cabinet Office is responsible for ensuring the effective co-ordination and implementation of the Government's wide-ranging programme of constitutional reform. The Cabinet Office also has policy responsibility for advising Ministers on implementing the Government's proposals for reform of the House of Lords.
Dr. Wright:
I am grateful for that answer. The Government are to be congratulated on their bold and ambitious programme of constitutional reform, soon happily to include the House of Lords, but is there not a difficulty, in that we have a big programme--11 Bills this year--but responsibility for it is spread among no fewer than eight Departments? Is it not time to make the Cabinet Office the Department of the constitution, driving the programme forward and making my right hon. Friend even more powerful than he is already?
Dr. Cunningham:
I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks about the Government's fundamentally important constitutional reform programme, most of which, as he rightly said, has been delivered. The question whether to make the Cabinet Office and my role more powerful is not one on which I wish to comment, except to say that I believe we already have sufficient power and responsibility in the Cabinet Office to co-ordinate a process that, of necessity--given devolution to Scotland and Wales and changes to the European Parliament--involves a significant number of Departments of State.
Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall):
Can the Minister confirm that the Bill to introduce a fairer system of voting for elections to the European Parliament is an integral and essential part of the Government's constitutional reform programme? Can he comment on the fact that the unelected seem to be prepared, at a late stage and after having taken no interest in the Bill during its Committee stage, to wreck the will of the elected?
Dr. Cunningham:
Yes, I can confirm both those points. It is the Government's intention to press ahead with our legislation in this area. As the hon. Gentleman said, it was clear that only a majority of hereditary peers prevented the will of the elected Chamber from prevailing in this matter. If Opposition Members want to assert the authority of the hereditary peerage over elected Members of the House of Commons, that is a battle that the Government are only too willing to fight.
Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle):
The remit of the Cabinet Joint Consultative Committee, on which Liberal Democrat Members sit, is to be expanded to encompass welfare reform, Europe, health and education. Liberal Democrat Members are to receive classified documents
Dr. Cunningham:
Perhaps I can reassure my hon. Friend, in that what he said is not altogether accurate. There are simply to be discussions between the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) and myself about the success of the co-operation between the Liberal Democrats and the Government in driving forward the shared constitutional agenda, to reflect on how the Joint Consultative Committee has operated in the past and to see whether it is possible to widen and/or deepen the process. Those decisions have not yet been taken. We have simply started the process, and one meeting has taken place.
Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire):
In view of the right hon. Gentleman's overall responsibility for House of Lords reform--he has just told us about that--will he give an assurance to the House that every stage of any Bill on that subject will be taken on the Floor of the House?
Dr. Cunningham:
As I have said, the Cabinet Office has policy responsibility for advising Ministers on taking forward the matter. I did not claim to have overall responsibility for the subject. As the hon. Gentleman well knows, the issue raised in his question is not a matter for me.
That so much of the Lords Message [17th November] as relates to the London Local Authorities Bill be now considered.
Resolved,
That this House doth concur with the Lords in their Resolution.--[The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
Message to the Lords to acquaint them therewith.
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