To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what engagement his Department have had with staff from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, since 2009, as part of the Personal and Public Involvement Strategy.

The Health and Social Care Reform Act (NI) 2009 placed a statutory legislative requirement on HSC organisations to involve and consult the population on the planning, delivery and evaluation of the services they provide. In particular, they were required to prepare a consultation scheme setting out how they would this and submit it to the Department for approval. The Department engaged with the Northern Trust in the development of its Personal and Public Involvement (PPI) Consultation scheme.

The Public Health Agency has responsibility for leading implementation of PPI policy across the HSC. This responsibility is taken forward through the Regional PPI Forum, which includes representation from all HSC organisations, the Department, as well as community and voluntary sector representatives, service users and carers.

The Northern HSC Trust and the Department engage on a regular basis at the Regional PPI Forum.