329.Section 108 requires the OHPA to seek the views of the following on matters relevant to the exercise of its functions:
members of the public;
bodies which appear to the OHPA to represent the interests of patients;
the GMC and the GOC;
any other bodies that appear to the OHPA to represent the professions regulated by the Medical Act 1983 and Opticians Act 1989.
330.The section is not restrictive and the OHPA may choose to consult more widely than this. It is likely that the Office for National Statistics will classify the OHPA as an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body. As such it would be expected to follow existing best practice in consulting. This would include the practice to be followed in relation to the manner in which it makes public the responses and the decisions it reaches in light of them.