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NHS Management (Salaries)
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Rother Valley of 25 March, Official Report, column 427, if he will list all cases in which remuneration has not been paid directly to chairmen of national health service bodies. [23720]
Mr. Malone: It is for individual national health service bodies to ensure that remuneration of chairmen and non-executives is paid direct, and in accordance with Inland Revenue requirements. We are not aware of any cases where this does not happen.
Paracetamol
Ms. Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he will take to prevent deaths of young people arising from the use of paracetamol. [23422]
Mr. Malone: No immediate measures additional to those already in place are proposed. Paracetamol is an effective pain killer which is safe at the dosage recommended on the labelling. The Medicines Control Agency carefully evaluates all new information on the safety of paracetamol, particularly in relation to the controls on its availability.
Cancer (Vaccinations)
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list vaccinations currently available on the NHS assessed by his Department as helping to prevent cancer. [23424]
Mr. Horam: In protecting people from acquiring hepatitis B infection, hepatitis B vaccine will also serve to prevent that proportion of cases of hepatocellular carcinoma--primary liver cancer--that is associated with the long-term carriage of hepatitis B virus.
Mental Health
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer on 12 March, Official Report, column 587, if the 68 health authorities whose plans anticipate the development of comprehensive mental health services before the end of 1996-97 included in those plans the provision of 24-hour nurse care for those residents needing it, within that time scale; and if he will list those authorities which all achieved adequate 24-hour nursed care provision for their residents before the end of 1996-97 and those that will not. [23545]
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Mr. Bowis: This information is not yet available. Progress on the plans will be assessed at the end of 1996-97.
Care in the Community
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received from the chief medical officer on the full implementation of the care programme approach for patients with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia discharged from hospital since 1992-93 or expected to be discharged. [24010]
Mr. Bowis: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly receives advice from the chief medical officer or from other medical advisors on his behalf. Information on the implementation of the care programme approach does not, however, differentiate between patients with schizophrenia and other severely mentally ill patients.
Committee on Safety of Medicines
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the calendar year 1995, for each member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, the number of meetings at which they were present and the number of meetings from which they were absent. [22085]
Mr. Malone: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 28 March, Official Report, column 748.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 1995, Official Report, columns 520-21, what steps he took to establish that no member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines received the papers dispatched on 11 October after 10.30 am on 12 October 1995. [22086]
Mr. Malone: Delivery times are guaranteed by the courier service used. No member complained that the papers were not received on time.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answers of 11 December 1995, Official Report, column 521, and 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 811, on what basis expenditure on travel and subsistence during the period 1990 to 1995 was made; and if the expenditure was approved by the National Audit Office. [22088]
Mr. Malone: The expenditure on travel and subsistence was incurred in the performance of the normal duties of the committees.
The expenditure referred to in the reply I gave the hon. Member on 11 December 1995, columns 521-22, has been included in the accounts of the Medicines Control Agency, which since 1 April 1992 have been subject to audit by the National Audit Office.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 1995, Official Report, column 523, what limitations section 4(2) of the Medicines Act 1968 imposes on the scope of activity and advice of committees, set up under section 4 of the Act. [22089]
Mr. Malone:
Section 4(2) of the Medicines Act 1968 provides that committees may be established under
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section 4(1) of that Act for any purpose, or combination of purposes, connected with the execution of that Act or the exercise of any power conferred by it, either generally or in relation to any particular class of substances or articles to which any provision of that Act is applicable. The implication is that such committees cannot be established for other purposes and that their activities and advice may not relate to other purposes.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 811, to the hon. Member for Gordon Mr. Bruce), what factors justify the appointment of members of the Committees on Safety of Medicines or other section 4 committees for a period in excess of the prescribed maximum of six years. [22090]
Mr. Malone:
Members are normally appointed for a three-year period and may be reappointed for further terms of office. Members are appointed and reappointed for their individual expertise in the fields of medicine, pharmacy or science. Their specialist knowledge and judgment contribute to the advice given by the committee to the Licensing Authority.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 810, to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce), what quality assurance proceedings relating to pharmacovigilance are in place in the Medicines Control Agency. [22091]
Mr. Malone:
The Medicines Control Agency's performance in pharmacovigilance is measured against a number of high-level targets, set to protect pubic health in the field of medical products. These are published in the agency's business plan and its accomplishments against them in its annual report, copies of which are available in the Library. The agency has in place a large number of rigorous standard operating procedures relating to its many pharmacovigilance functions in order to ensure that good pharmacovigilance practice is carried out. Assessment reports on important safety issues relating to licensed medicines are subject to peer review both with the agency and by independent experts on the relevant advisory committees.
All agency procedures are subject to audit by the National Audit Office and internal Department of Health auditors.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answers of 11 December 1995, Official Report, columns 520-21, and 8 February 1995, Official Report, column 344, what factors prevented consideration of the safety issues relating to combined oral contraceptives containing desogestrel or gestodene by the pharmacovigilance subcommittee at its meetings on 5 September or 3 October. [22087]
Mr. Malone:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 19 December 1995, Official Report, column 1151.
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Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been undertaken to establish whether potentially BSE contaminated material can enter human blood systems via tooth cavities when children are losing their milk teeth. [23219]
Mr. Horam:
None. The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee has considered this issue and accepts that this could be a route of BSE infection, if this occurs, as could dental disease in adults.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral answer of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to the hon. Member for Colchester, North (Mr. Jenkin) on 26 January, Official Report, column 576, if he will list those statutory instruments and Acts of Parliament which have been gold plated in the past five years; and what steps he is taking to amend or repeal each piece of gold plating on existing legislation. [23633]
Mr. Horam:
The Government's policy is not to add unnecessary burdens when implementing EC directives. Departments take every opportunity to review existing legislation in the light of this. Officials are currently working on revised guidance to enable Ministers to see where implementing legislation goes beyond the underlying EC directive.
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