Written question asked by Roger Berry (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 April 2005. It was answered by Stephen Ladyman (Labour) on Monday, 4 April 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what structures are in place to monitor the implementation of the Children's National Service Framework.

Answer: Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what structures are in place to monitor the implementation of the children's national service framework. [223845] Dr. Ladyman: The national service framework (NSF) is a key component of the Government's overall programme, "Every Child Matters: Change for Children", which aims to improve outcomes for children, including health outcomes. "Supporting Local Delivery", the delivery strategy for the NSF, described how progress would be measured. This will include internal evaluation using indicators which are under development, performance management by strategic health authorities and the inspection process. The inspectorates will be responsible for measuring progress against the NSF, to judge the contribution of services to improving these outcomes. Commencing in September this year, Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection will conduct joint area reviews of children's services to assess the contribution of local services to improving outcomes for children and young people. Assessment of progress against the NSF in the national health service specifically is the responsibility of the Healthcare Commission, which has recently completed an extensive public consultation on a new system of assessing and performance rating NHS trusts in 2005-06.

Secondary information