WIREDGOV

General Reports and Other Publications

Ofwat:  The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) has responded to the Public Accounts Committee report - 'Ofwat: Meeting the demand for water' - saying that without Ofwat's work, the average water bill would be £90 per annum higher today than it is, in the last decade leakage has gone down by a third and where companies have not delivered, Ofwat have taken action to protect consumers.
Press release ~ PAC press Notice ~ 'Ofwat: Meeting the demand for water' ~ NAO: Ofwat – Meeting the demand for water (January 2007) ~ International Comparison of Water and Sewerage Service 2007 ~ VEWA - 'Comparison of European Water and Wastewater Prices' ~ Defra - Water conservation ~ Water Strategy: Directing the Flow - priorities for future water policy ~ Consumer Council for Water ~ Water UK

DH:  An independent report looking at how current radiotherapy resources could be put to better use and how the DH should plan for a radiotherapy service that will meet the future needs of the population, has been issued by the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group.

The report acknowledges that radiotherapy services have already seen improvements, but it also found that:

• the need for radiotherapy services was significantly underestimated by planners 15-20 years ago
• as a result there is a significant gap in radiotherapy capacity (both in terms of equipment & staff), and
• cancer incidence will increase further due to a more elderly population over the next 10 years

Press release ~ Radiotherapy: developing a world class service for England ~ DH - CancerNational Radiotherapy Advisory Group ~ Progress on the cancer reform strategy ~ 'Cancer Ten Years On: Improvements across the whole care pathway' ~ King's Fund - Future Trends and Challenges for Cancer Services in England: A review of literature and policy ~

HC:  The Healthcare Commission has completed an independent review process of the 2006 performance ratings for NHS trusts in .  Of the 570 NHS trusts assessed by the Commission last year, 17 trusts requested a review of their rating – less than 3% of trusts and two requests were upheld:

• University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
• Bassetlaw Primary Care Trust

In both of the requests upheld, the Commission agreed that although there were lapses, the trusts had met the standard overall.
Press release ~ Healthcare Commission – Requests for Review