Health select committee: contribution of the NHS to reducing health inequalities

[Guest guest]

I have just heard about this inquiry (which was advertised by press release at the end of November, I understand), which invites submissions from individuals and organisations.  It seems an important opportunity, but the deadline is very close:  9th January.  I attach this, and have put the whole text into the body of the email.  To quote:"The Committee will examine the extent to which the NHS can help to achieve a reduction in health inequalities, particularly through primary care and public health services. The inquiry will focus on:The extent to which the NHS can contribute to reducing health inequalities, given that many of the causes of inequalities relate to other policy areas e.g. taxation, employment, housing, education and local government; The distribution and quality of GP services and their influence on health inequalities, including how the Quality and Outcomes Framework and Practice-based Commissioning might be used to improve the quality and distribution of GP services to reduce health inequalities; The effectiveness of public health services at reducing inequalities by targeting key causes such as smoking and obesity, including whether some public health interventions may lead to increases in health inequalities; and which interventions are most cost-effective; Whether specific interventions designed to tackle health inequalities, such as Sure Start and Health Action Zones, have proved effective and cost-effective; The success of NHS organisations at co-ordinating activities with other organisations, for example local authorities, education and housing providers, to tackle inequalities; and what incentives can be provided to ensure these organisations improve care The effectiveness of the Department of Health in co-ordinating policy with other government departments, in order to meets its Public Service Agreement targets for reducing inequalities; and Whether the Government is likely to meet its Public Service Agreement targets in respect of health inequalities.Organisations and individuals are invited to submit written evidence. Written evidence should if possible be in Word or rich text format—not PDF format—and sent by e-mail to healthcommem@... . The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear if the submission is from an individual or on behalf of an organisation. The deadline is Wednesday 9 January 2008. Submissions must address the terms of reference. They should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum and should be no more than 3,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary. Further guidance on the submission of evidence can be found at www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/witnessguide.pdf .  Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere, though previously published work can be referred to in a submission and submitted as supplementary material. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence. For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter or e-mail. Evidence sessions are likely to commence after the February Half Term Recess and a later press notice will give details of these. "best wishes sarahcowley183@...http://myprofile.cos.com/S124021COn