The Committee welcomes evidence from individuals as well as from organisations and professional bodies. The Committee intends that evidence received will inform its consideration of the Bill at Stage 1. All responses will be made available to the Committee along with a summary of responses to the Scottish Government's consultation.

The Committee invites the views of all interested parties, organisations and individuals, on -

• whether you support the principle of direct election to health boards;

in particular -

• what the practical benefits of having elected members on health boards would be;
• whether those benefits would outweigh the costs arising from running such elections and supporting elected members;
• what the risks are of having elected members on health boards;
• whether elected members' scope for action will be affected by health boards' continuing accountability to ministers; and
• whether alternatives to direct election exist as a means to increasing public involvement in the NHS.

The Committee is also interested in hearing views on the following points, regardless of whether or not you support the principle of direct election -

• the composition of heath boards as set out in the Bill;
• the arrangements for elections as set out in the Bill including the franchise, voting system and designation of each health board area as a single ward;
• the arrangements for piloting direct election as set out in the Bill; and
• the practical implications and cost of bringing the Bill's provisions into force.

How to submit your evidence

Please send your views on the Bill by no later than Monday 1 September 2008.

Responses should be sent, where possible, electronically in Word format to the following address-

healthandsport@scottish.parliament.uk

Hard copy responses to:

Health and Sport Committee

T3.60

Scottish Parliament

EH99 1SP

Responses should be no more than four sides of A4 in length.

All written evidence received may be published by the Parliament and will be treated as a public document. If you wish to submit evidence in confidence or anonymously please read the policy on handling information outlined below.

• Policy for handling information in response to calls for evidence (pdf 15kb)

What happens next?

The Committee will consider all submissions received and may request further oral or written evidence as required.The Committee will commence oral evidence session on the Bill at Stage 1 once written evidence has been considered and a list of organisations and individuals participating will be published on the Committee agenda papers in advance of the relevant meeting.

Should you require alternative formats of this document or further information or assistance in making a written submission to the Committee, please do not hesitate to contact the Clerking team.

For Committee information, contact:

David Slater: 0131 348 5410

Email: david.slater@scottish.parliament.uk

For further information, the media contact is:

Ann Donald: 0131 348 5605

Email: ann.donald@scottish.parliament.uk

For public information enquiries, contact: 0131 348 5000

For general enquiries, contact: 0845 278 1999 (local call rate) Email: sp.info@scottish.parliament.uk