Edwina Hart, Minister for Health and Social Services:
"I am aware of some recent criticism of the process of consultation I have undertaken on the reform of Community Health Councils in Wales."
There has been extensive consultation on proposals to reform Community Health Councils (CHCs) since January 2009, with ample opportunity for everyone to have their say. It may be that the small number of people who are now being critical of the process are unaware of the substantial and comprehensive level of publicity that these proposals have received over the course of the past year, and so I am of the view that it would be helpful to make this plain.
There have been three formal opportunities for comment and a fourth extended to CHCs themselves. Three consultation documents and sets of draft regulations were issued publicly - in January, June and December last year – and were published on the websites of the Assembly Government, NHS Wales, and those of the CHCs. CHCs also widely disseminated the documents amongst their members, which include local councillors and representatives from the voluntary sector. My officials held a series of engagement events across Wales between January and April last year, which over 500 people attended in total.
I also invited CHCs to submit to me their own proposals for joint working, by the end of July.
I have made two statements on this issue, one in the Chamber of the Senedd as well as a written statement issued to all AMs.
I have gone substantially beyond what is accepted as good practice in consulting on this matter and can clearly demonstrate that the responses from the three consultations and CHC proposals were taken into account and informed the final structure of CHCs in Wales announced last month.
It can therefore be seen that I have provided a wide range of opportunities over a considerable period of time, to those wishing to make comment about the future structure of CHCs in Wales.
Notes for readers:
First Consultation- held between 30 January and 24 April 2009
(12 weeks on new substantive policy proposals)
The documents were issued widely by e-mail and in hard copy. The Minister wrote to all AMs enclosing copies. The documents appeared on the Assembly, NHS Wales and CHC/CHC Board websites. A total of 319 responses were received by the closing date and a further 32 after the closing date. There were also 15 consultation events across Wales, in which Assembly officials presented the proposals and answered questions. About 500 people in total attended these events. On 12 May, following the consultation, the Minister made a statement to plenary to indicate that she would bring forward regulations on some of the areas where agreement had been reached. In terms of the structure of the CHCs, the Minister agreed to allow CHCs themselves to submit proposals to her by the end of July.
Second consultation - held between 17 June and 26 July 2009
(6 weeks on areas where agreement had been reached in the first consultation)
The documents were issued to the same list of consultees as previously and were published on websites as before. A total of 15 responses were received.
Submission of CHC proposals by end of July 2009
Proposals were received from the CHCs, as requested.
Third consultation - held between 7 December 2009 and 15 January 2010
(6 weeks on the intended way forward, taking account of the comments and proposals received in previous consultations)
This was preceded by a written Ministerial statement on 25 November, which was sent to all AMs. The Minister's statement outlined her intentions - i.e. that she would be reducing the number of CHCs to 6 from 1 April 2010 (plus the 2 existing CHCs in Powys), and that each new CHC would have a number of local committees, made up of full CHC members. The documents were published on the Assembly, NHS Wales and CHC/CHC Board websites and the consultation was featured in the NHS Wales Bulletin for December. The materials were also issued by e-mail to a range of organisations. Many CHCs issued the documents to local AMs and MPs, councils and other organisations. A total of 65 responses were received, the majority from CHCs themselves.