City MP Mark Lancaster has intervened in the growing row over the future of Community Health Services in Milton Keynes by raising the matter in Parliament and calling on the Government to give the city 'more time' to decide the best way forward.

His intervention came after being contacted by Council Chief Executive David Hill who expressed local concerns at being given just twelve working days to respond to options which are set to have a major impact on how MK's Community Health Services will be delivered in the future.

Mark said: "These really are very complicated issues involving multiple providers and affecting many vulnerable groups in the city. We all want to deliver the best possible service that we can and for Government to impose a timetable that results in a consultaiton period of just twelve daysthat is not only utterly ridiculous, but may well have a detremental impact on the quality of service. This is completely unacceptable and it is clear that the primary interest is to push these changes through before a likely General Election rathter than the needs of local people and in my eyes is the worst kind of politics."

Responding to Mr Lancaster in the Commons Mrs Harmen said that she would ensure that the Secretary of State wrote to Mr Lancaster on the subject.