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Oral Contraceptives
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long the family planning experts on the Committee on Safety of Medicines were given before the committee's meeting on 13 October 1995 to review the data on third generation oral contraceptives. [24969]
Mr. Malone: The family planning experts who attended the meeting were sent the papers by express courier on 11 October for receipt by 10.30 am the following morning, with the exception of one expert who was aboard at the time and who was provided with a copy of the papers at the earliest opportunity.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on discussions between his Department and the British Medical Association on alternatives to the fax cascade system for alerting health professionals to urgent public health information; what is the expected timetable; and when he expects to have a new system in place. [24949]
Mr. Horam: The chief medical officer met the British Medical Association and other medical organisations on 28 February 1996 to discuss arrangements for transmitting urgent communications to doctors and how these might be improved. The current arrangements use an electronic system via telephone lines to transmit urgent messages to directors of public health who then cascade the message to relevant health professionals. Alternative methods were discussed but the profession's representatives did not consider any would improve the present arrangements until the Department is fully connected to the message handling application of the NHS--wide networking system. The technology is now in place for health authorities and other NHS institutions to connect to this system and this is being actively encouraged.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions (a) his Department, (b) the Committee on Safety of Medicines and (c) the Medicines Control Agency had with the product licence holders of the third generation
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oral contraceptives which were the subject of the safety warning issued in October 1995, between 4 July and October 1995; and if he will make a statement. [24970]
Mr. Malone: Information about discussions held with pharmaceutical companies about their products is treated in confidence under the Medicines Act 1968.
Asylum Seekers
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent local authorities are reimbursed for costs arising from their obligations to the children of asylum seekers, under the terms of the Children Act 1989.[24975]
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Woolwich (Mr. Austin-Walker) on 19 March at columns 191-92.
Compliance Cost Assessments
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many compliance cost assessments were produced by his Department in 1995; and if he will place copies in the Library. [25274]
Mr. Horam: The Department produced six compliance cost assessments in 1995. Copies are available in the Library.
Internal Market
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish a study of (a) the additional paperwork required of general practitioners and their staffs by the introduction and operation of the internal market within the national health service and of means of simplifying and reducing their paper requirements; and if he will seek the co-operation of the principal professional organisations in this study. [25511]
Mr. Malone: The Department of Health has already conducted a study into paperwork in general practice and has acted upon the findings. The report of the efficiency scrutiny into bureaucracy in general practice, "Patients not Paper", published in July 1995, contains recommendations which when implemented will substantially reduce bureaucracy in general practice. About 17 million forms per year will be abolished from 1 July 1996, when some of the recommendations are implemented.
Health Authority Contracts
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the names of district health authorities which are in dispute, or have not yet agreed, with any of their principal health trust providers contracts for the year 1996-97, within each case (a) the name of the providing trust, (b) the reason for the delay and (c) arrangements made for arbitration and its likely timetable; and what assessment he has made of the consequential effects on patients of (i) GP fundholders and (ii) GP non-fundholders in each case. [25510]
Mr. Horam: Information on health service contracts agreed by health authorities for 1996-97 is being collected and will be placed in the Library. Information by individual providers is not available centrally.
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