Written question asked by Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 14 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 July 2009. It was answered by Phil Hope (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Vulnerable Adults: Protection

Question: (2) what the (a) start and (b) end date was for his Department's No Secrets consultation; whether his Department's response has been drafted and published in accordance with the timescale set out in the code of practice on consultation; and if he will make a statement;

Answer: The membership of the Programme Board and Advisory Group is published in the consultation document, "Safeguarding Adults: A consultation on the review of the 'No Secrets' guidance"—Department of Health, October 2008. A copy has already been placed in the Library.The remit of the Programme Board was to review the effectiveness of present multi-agency safeguarding and adult protection guidance in producing positive outcomes for individuals at risk of abuse in the light of emerging information from recent cases, recent inspections and in the context of the Government's overall policy agenda in both health and social care, and to carry out a national consultation on these issues. The Advisory Group's remit was to advise on issues relevant to the consultation. The Programme Board met on 21 May 2008, 25 June 2008 and 9 October 2008. The Advisory Group met on 7 May 2008, 26 September 2008 and 12 November 2008.The consultation opened on 16 October 2008 and closed on 31 January 2009. The analysis of the consultation responses was published on 17 July 2009. The time taken to publish the analysis reflected the fact that some 12,000 people, including those with learning difficulties, older people, those with mental health problems and people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, participated in the consultation.The Department is a signatory to the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation and follows the code closely.

Secondary information