The Associate Parliamentary Health Group (APHG) is an all-party parliamentary subject group dedicated to disseminating knowledge, generating debate and facilitating engagement with health issues amongst Members of Parliament. APHG comprises members of all political parties, provides information with balance and impartiality, focuses on local as well as national matters, and is recognised as one of the preferred sources of information on health in Parliament.

The APHG was launched in November 2001, following discussions and with Ministers of
Government, the Department of Health, the NHS Executive, and senior Parliamentarians, on the basis that Members of Parliament need as much high quality and impartial information as possible to fulfil their crucial role in the UK's health programme.

With the knowledge and expertise of senior figures from both Houses of Parliament, the NHS and the public and private sector, we aim to provide this and further encourage their involvement.

We inform and engage Parliamentarians though three major avenues: The organisation of briefings, seminars and conferences addressing and providing information on the major developments in health and the health service; the provision of comprehensive web-based resources, including a unique site that compares local hospital trust performance on a constituency by constituency basis, a subject based resource page on key health issues and a weekly Parliamentary monitoring service; and through the creation of initiatives designed to help MPs engage more actively with health and the National Health Service in their own constituency.

The APHG's agenda is set by its all-party team of elected Parliamentary Officers in consultation with its distinguished Advisory Panel, and delivered by a dedicated secretariat.

The group is supported by an Associate Membership of 24 of the UK's leading companies working in the health sector, who offer a valued insight into present developments occurring within healthcare, and provide a useful tool for seeking the views of private industry on health care provision in the UK.

By acting as a forum for discussion and a vehicle for the dissemination of information, we enable parliamentarians, policy makers, healthcare professionals, suppliers, purchasers, universities, voluntary organisations and charities all to play a full part in an agenda for positive change. Our role as a conduit of ideas brings benefits in other ways, for we aim to attract all interested parties to share innovative ideas that apply not just to health, but across a broad range of other public policy areas.