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Medicines (Safety)
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the occasions during 1994 on which (a) the Licensing Authority, (b) the Medicine Control Agency and (c) the Committee on Safety of Medicines have taken legal action with respect to matters relating to
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the Medicines Act 1968; and how many injunctions have been sought during that period relating to material relating to the efficacy or safety of medicines. [28137]
Mr. Malone: A list of those occasions will be placed in the Library.
One injunction was sought with the consent of the Attorney-General and granted in 1994: to stop the illegal promotion and sale of gamma hydroxybutyrate, an unlicensed medical product known to be used as a drug of abuse.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each occasion that the chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines has sent "Dear Doctor" letters to United Kingdom doctors, what regulatory action accompanied the letter, the date of the letter and the date of the licensing action. [28139]
Mr. Malone:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 9 May. The "Dear doctor" letters sent out by the chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines prior to 1980 are shown in the table.
| Subject | Date of letter | Products containing the following drug substance(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment of the Committee on Dental and Surgical Materials--advice on reporting of adverse reactions | 23 January 1979 | No safety issue |
| Mortality among women using oral contraceptives | 6 October 1977 | Combined oral contraceptives |
| Phenformin and lactic acidosis | 7 September 1977 | Phenformin |
| Sub-acute myelo-optic neuropathy with clioquinol; | May 1973 | Clioquinol |
| Vaginal adenocarcinoma with stilboestrol; | May 1973 | Stilboestrol |
| Safety of local anaesthetics containing noradrenaline, use in patients on antidepressants; | May 1973 | Local anaesthetics (preparations containing 1:25,000 noradrenaline), Tricyclic antidepressants |
| Anticonvulsants and congenital abnormalities | May 1973 | Anticonvulsants including primidone, phenobarbitone and phenytoin |
| Combined oral contraceptives and pulmonary embolism | May 1973 | Oral contraceptives (>50 micrograms oestrogen) |
Medicines Act 1968
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 2 April, Official Report,
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column 186, if he will list for each of the 35 occasions in 1995 when the Licensing Authority instigated legal action, whom the legal action was taken against, what was the relevant statutory provision, what the outcome of the action was and what costs were incurred by the Licensing Authority. [28138]
Mr. Malone: A list of those occasions will be placed in the Library.
The relevant statutory provisions were sections 108(1), 67 and 45 of the Medicines Act 1968. It was not the practice in 1995 to apportion costs of enforcement action to each individual defendant.
Medicines Commission
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who employs the legal advisers of the Medicines Commission; and what is their relationship with (i) the Licensing Authority, (ii) the Department of Health and (iii) the Medicines Control Agency. [28140]
Mr. Malone: The Medicines Commission has access, on request, to legal advice from the office of the solicitor to the Department of Social Security in respect of medicines for human use and to the office of the legal adviser and solicitor to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of veterinary products. The Department of Health and the Medicines Control Agency, who act on the Licensing Authority's behalf, receive legal advice from the office of the solicitor to the Department of Social Security.
Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to his answer of 26 April, Official Report, column 293, if he will list the staff employed by the Sheffield centre for health and related research who are former employees of the Trent regional health authority; and if he will make a statement on the academic research experience of the staff, their salary levels and which bodies are responsible for paying these salaries; [28343]
- (2) pursuant to his answer of 26 April, Official Report, column 293, what was the position of the three staff formerly employed at Trent regional health authority who took up posts at the Sheffield centre for health and related research held at the regional health authority; and what severance terms were agreed by the regional health authority. [28420]
Mr. Malone: These are matters for the University of Sheffield. The three staff resigned from the Trent regional health authority and no severance terms were agreed. As to their positions, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 26 April at column 293.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding was provided by the former Yorkshire regional health authority to the Sheffield centre for health and related research. [28353]
Redundancies
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 16 April, Official Report,
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column 477, what exceptions were made in providing redundancy terms more favourable than those listed in section 45 of the general Whitley council handbook or circular HSG (94) 18, following the dissolution of the former Yorkshire regional health authority; if he will indicate in each case the circumstances in which this was done; and by how much the terms agreed exceeded those set out in the guidance. [28352]
Mr. Malone: No exceptions were made.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total sum currently being made available (a) through the national health service executive and (b) direct from the Department of Health to the Sheffield centre for Health and related research in 1996-97. [28354]
Mr. Malone: The total value in 1996-97 of contracts awarded to the Sheffield centre for health and related research is £965,660 by the national health service executive and £555,390 by the Department of Health.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the staff employed by the Sheffield centre for health and related research who are former employees of the Yorkshire regional health authority; and if he will make a statement on the academic research experience of the staff indicating their salary levels and the bodies responsible for their pay; [28419]
- (2) which staff from the former Yorkshire regional health authority (i) transferred to take up posts at the Sheffield centre for health and related research and (ii) took up posts at that centre following the dissolution of the regional health authority; what was their former position at the regional health authority; and what were the severance terms agreed by the regional health authority. [28421]
Mr. Malone: These are matters for the University of Sheffield.
Psychiatrists
Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the current numbers of consultant psychiatrist posts in England and Wales by local health authority area.[28875]
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| England and Wales total | 1,990 |
| Northern | 100 |
| Yorkshire | 130 |
| Trent | 180 |
| East Anglia | 90 |
| North West Thames | 130 |
| North East Thames | 160 |
| South East Thames | 180 |
| South West Thames | 130 |
| Wessex | 110 |
| Oxford | 110 |
| South Western | 120 |
| West Midlands | 180 |
| Mersey | 90 |
| North Western | 140 |
| Special Health Authorities | 30 |
| Wales | 110 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
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It is standard practice not to show statistical data relating to NHS staff in such detail that individuals could be identified.
Mr. Meale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health trusts and health authorities by region do not utilise psychiatrists in planning services for the mentally ill. [28867]
Mr. Bowis:
This information is not available centrally.
Mr. Meale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there are for consultant psychiatrists in each health authority area in the UK. [28876]
Mr. Malone:
Figures for England are shown in the table. Questions relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| England total | 170 |
| Northern | 10 |
| Yorkshire | 10 |
| Trent | 20 |
| East Anglia | 10 |
| NW Thames | 20 |
| NE Thames | 10 |
| SE Thames | 10 |
| SW Thames | 20 |
| Wessex | 0 |
| Oxford | 0 |
| S Western | 0 |
| W Midlands | 30 |
| Mersey | 10 |
| N Western | 10 |
| Special Health Authorities | 0 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers greater than zero but less than or equal to 5 are shown as zero.
It is standard practice not to show statistical data relating to NHS staff in such detail that individuals could be identified.
Mr. Meale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric posts are currently occupied by locums in each health authority area in the UK. [28877]
Mr. Malone:
This information is not available centrally.
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