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The Development and Evaluation Committee (DEC) provides local guidance on the value of new and existing health care technologies, including drugs, devices, procedures and health care settings. The system is made up of two components: i) literature review and cost‐effectiveness estimation of the proposed and current technologies, and ii) consideration by the Development and Evaluation Committee which arbitrates, makes recommendations and disseminates results across the South and West region. Sixty‐three reviews have been undertaken to date, including, for example, beta interferon for multiple sclerosis, pulsed dye laser in the treatment of port‐wine stains, and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer. The outcomes of this service are guides to purchasing which are both carefully researched and scrutinized.

The purpose of this paper is to re‐appraise the role of the private renting in the housing system drawing on a review of public policies toward the sector in six countries. It re‐examines the adequacy of explanations about tenurial “competition” and the dynamics of tenurial change using a cross disciplinary perspective.

The paper critiques key explanations on the nature and type of competition between housing tenures, notably dual and unitary models, and the role of private renting in explanations of tenure dynamics. The paper also explores some of these ideas empirically by examining the changing role of the private renting relative to other tenures in a number of European countries and in Australia.

The paper expresses doubts about the potential for unitary markets to develop/continue as integrated markets because of the fundamental problems about ensuring continuing investment in the private rented sector and constraints on the maturation process, particularly where ownership of rental housing is diverse and small‐scale. The analysis suggests that housing tenures are quite fluid and with a general trend towards deregulation of private rents there is a blurring of the distinction between different types of rental systems.

The analysis suggests that it is critical to understand changes in private renting taking into account broader economic conditions, trade‐offs about housing consumption and investment, and public policy settings.

The analysis draws out theoretically, and explores empirically, the process of change in tenure relations by for the first time focusing on the role of private renting in these dynamics.

A total of 63 parents whose children underwent urological surgery at a tertiary referral specialist paediatric hospital were surveyed at three times points: immediately after signing consent; two to three days after surgery (at discharge); and by telephone two to three weeks after discharge. The survey was to assess parents’ perceptions of the consent process and parental recall of information given about the surgical procedure and risks. Results demonstrated that despite the majority of parents being satisfied with the consent process, operation, aftercare and the subsequent health of their child, their recall of risk information was poor, with 60 per cent of parents unable to recall any explained risks of the operation. This study pre‐dated the introduction of the national consent policies and forms, but provides evidence which supports the need for this consistent approach across the NHS which emphasises the effective communication of risks and benefits in relation to proposed treatment.