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Smoking and Drinking-related Deaths
Sir Russell Johnston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what comparison he has made between the number of deaths attributable to smoking and to excessive alcohol consumption; what are the figures for each in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [22105]
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 10 January, Official Report, columns 231-32.
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Free Prescriptions
Mr. Walden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional revenue would accrue from limiting free prescriptions to those on income support. [21744]
Mr. Malone: It is not possible to make a reliable estimate. The present categories of exemption or remission are not mutually exclusive. Many people qualify under several categories and therefore no reliable estimates can be made of the number of those who would qualify under income support alone and hence the number of people who would no longer qualify for free prescriptions.
NHS Management (Salaries)
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many chairmen of health service bodies have salary payments made directly to them; how many receive payments indirectly; and what have been these numbers in each year since 1992. [22749]
Mr. Malone: Remuneration should be paid directly to the chairmen of all national health service bodies to comply with Inland Revenue requirements.
Triazolam
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what powers, from which Acts, the suspension of the product licenses for triazolam referred to in the letter dated 1 October 1991 from the then chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines was made; and on which of the grounds specified in these Acts the Committee on Safety of Medicines based its view that the product licences should be suspended. [20930]
Mr. Malone: Product licences for triazolam were suspended on 2 October 1991 in accordance with the powers available in paragraphs 10 and 11 of schedule 2 to the Medicines Act 1968. The grounds were that the products could no longer be regarded as products which could safely be administered for the purposes indicated in the licences.
Mianserin
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on which dates the adverse reactions group of the subcommittee on efficacy and adverse reactions and the Committee on Safety of Medicines considered safety issues relating to the antidepressant mianserin; what advice was given to the licensing authority; and on what dates that advice was given. [20931]
Mr. Malone: Safety issues relating to mianserin were considered by these committees on a number of occasions between 1981 and 1990. The advice given to the Licensing Authority is confidential.
Oral Contraceptives
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures the Committee on Safety of Medicines took at its meeting on 13 October 1995 to ensure that the apparent association between third generation oral contraceptives and venous thromboembolism was not due to chance, confounding or bias. [20932]
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Mr. Malone: The committee took particular care to examine these issues on the basis of all the evidence available and concluded that the association could not be fully explained by chance, bias or confounding.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the intention of the chief executive of the Medicines Control Agency, as expressed in writing on 18 October 1995, to take regulatory action on third generation oral contraceptives was halted; on whose authority this decision was made; and what was the effect of this decision on the ability of the Licensing Authority to fulfil its statutory duties. [20929]
Mr. Malone: Regulatory action is initiated by the Licensing Authority. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 19 December 1995, Official Report, column 1149, in which I made it clear that such matters are confidential until regulatory action has been completed.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who drafted and on what date the "Dear Doctor" letter of 18 October 1995; and if it was agreed by the Committee on Safety of Medicines at its meeting on 13 October 1995. [20935]
Mr. Malone: The chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines drafted the letter following the meeting of the Committee on Safety of Medicines on 13 October 1995, on the basis of the recommendations made by the committee.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations in respect of the Licensing Authority's view of the potential safety concern regarding third generation oral contraceptives the chairman made at the special meeting of the Committee on Safety of Medicines on 13 October 1995. [20936]
Medicines Control Agency
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are in place within the Medicines Control Agency to monitor the technical competence of staff. [20933]
Mr. Malone: The Medicines Control Agency ensures that its staff have appropriate professional and technical qualifications to perform effectively through its stringent recruitment and selection procedures; all new staff undergo a probationary period of one year upon joining. The technical competence of staff is maintained through appropriate training and is monitored through annual appraisal of their ability to meet defined objectives; this is subject to sign-off by a senior member of staff.
The agency is also involved in the development of continuing further education programmes to ensure that all staff remain abreast of developments within their field.
Toxocariasis and Toxoplasmosis
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) toxocariasis and (b) toxoplasmosis have been recorded in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [22122]
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Mr. Horam: The numbers of laboratory reports for England and Wales of toxocariasis and toxoplasmosis to the public health laboratory service's communicable disease surveillance centre for each year from 1991 to 1995 are shown in the table.
| Year | Toxocariasis | Toxoplasmosis |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 33 | 636 |
| 1992 | 23 | 580 |
| 1993 | 25 | 454 |
| 1994 | 25 | 627 |
| 1995(9) | 38 | 322 |
(9) Data for 1995 are provisional, but are unlikely to change significantly.
From the limited data received in recent years, the CDSC has not noted any significant change in the number of toxocariasis infections reported.
On toxoplasmosis, the CDSC received an annual average of around 750 laboratory reports between 1982 and 1991, and an average 524 in each year between 1991 and 1995. From 1982, numbers remained fairly constant until 1989. Since 1990, with the exception of an increase in 1994, numbers have continued to decline.
Mr. Sutcliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance with transport is provided by his Department to patients who are unable to attend doctors' surgeries but who in the doctor's opinion do not require a home visit. [22250]
Mr. Malone:
None. It is for general practitioners themselves to determine how best to provide their services, taking into account the needs of their patients.
Mr. Kevin Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent advice he received from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee about the implications for human health on the use of foodstuff containing beef extracts; [22675]
Mr. Horam:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Helath made an oral statement on 20 March about the advice received from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee and the chief medical officer, Official Report, columns 375-86. The advice received about beef included beef products.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by (a) districts within each region and (b) trusts within each region the costs of purchasing health care from non-NHS bodies in each year from 1991-92. [21538]
Mr. Malone
[holding answer 18 March 1996]: The information will be placed in the Library.
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(2) what recent advice he received from the chief medical officer about the implications for human helath on the use of foodstuffs containing beef extracts. [22674]
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