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Benzodiazepines and Tricyclates

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has evaluated into the (a) short-term and (b) long-term effects associated with (i) benzodiazepines and (ii) tricyclates; and if he will make a statement. [14517]

Mr. Malone: For all marketed medicines, the available research into the side effects--both short and long--term-- of benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants was assessed at the time of granting the marketing authorisations and continues to be evaluated by the Medicines Control Agency. Recognised side-effects for both categories of drug are included in the authorised product information and the "British National Formulary".

Medicinal Drugs (Labelling)

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans his Department has to require clearer labelling on medicinal drugs in respect of (a) verbal descriptions of products, (b) symbols and (c) the use of colours to draw attention to the possible side effects and dangers of products; and if he will make a statement;[14583]

(2) what guidelines his Department issues to drug manufacturers on the labelling of their products in respect of (a) their contents and (b) dangers associated with their use; and if he will make a statement. [14520]

Mr. Malone: All medicines are required by United Kingdom legislation implementing directive 92/27/EEC--on the labelling of medicines for human use and on package leaflets--to give essential particulars of the product on the labelling, including a description of the product and any necessary warnings. Where appropriate the warnings are placed separately in a boxed area to draw the reader's attention. Symbols and pictograms which can be readily identified by the public are actively encouraged as a means of simplifying essential messages. Medicines must also be accompanied by further detailed information

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in an enclosed patient leaflet unless the labelling contains all the information necessary under the directive. The directive requirements are being phased in by therapeutic category and it is anticipated that these requirements will be met for all medicines by the end of 1998.

The European Community is currently consulting on detailed guidelines for the labelling of medicines covering, in particular, special warnings and information on excipients which are known to have a recognised action or effect. We are participating in producing these guidelines which are expected to be available later this year.

The Medicines Control Agency prepared guidelines for the pharmaceutical industry when directive 92/27/EEC was implemented into UK law and intends to issue a revised edition to reflect EC guidance as appropriate.

Medicinal Drugs (Sales to Children)

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department has taken to reduce the sales of medicinal drugs to children under 16 years; and if he will make a statement. [14519]

Mr. Malone: We are considering the need for further restrictions on the sale of medicine to children and, subject to further consideration of the available evidence of risk, we will bring forward any necessary proposals.

Medicinal Drugs (Sales)

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria his Department sets for medicinal drugs permitted to be sold over the counter; and if he will make a statement. [14584]

Mr. Malone: The criteria set for allowing medicines to be available over the counter are laid down in Council directive 92/26/EEC and have been incorporated into section 58A of the Medicines Act 1968. Medicines are considered unsuitable for sale or supply without a doctor's prescription when they:

are likely to present a danger either directly or indirectly, even when used correctly, if utilised without medical supervision, or
are frequently and to a very wide extent used incorrectly, and as a result are likely to present a direct or indirect danger to human health, or
contain substances or preparations thereof the activity and/or side effects or which require further investigation, or
are normally prescribed by a doctor to be administered parenterally.

Cancer Screening

Sir Julian Critchley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors underlie his Department's priorities in allocating funding for the screening of (a) prostrate cancer, (b) cervical cancer, and (c) breast cancer. [14378]

Mr. Horam: The Government look to the national screening committee for advice on the introduction, review, modification or cessation of population screening programmes. In order to determine priorities for screening, the national screening committee uses criteria

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based upon the principles of screening developed by Wilson and Jungner for the World Health Organisation. The key principles are: that the condition should pose an important health problem; the natural history of the disease should be well understood; there should be a recognisable early stage; treatment at an early stage should be more beneficial than treatment started later; there should be a suitable test acceptable to the population with facilities for diagnosis and treatment; screening should be repeated at intervals where appropriate; the chance of physical or psychological harm to those screened should be less than the chance of benefit; the cost of a screening programme should be balanced against the benefit it provides.

Computer Crime

Mr. Derek Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasion in each of the last five years computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers in his Department. [14544]

Mr. Horam: There have been no reported incidents of illegal hacking on the Department of Health's computer systems over the last five years.

Mr. Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of computer hacking, fraud and theft, including theft of computer chips his Department has recorded in the last five years. [14554]

Mr. Horam: For the calendar years 1992 to 1996 inclusive, 267 cases of computer theft--mostly minor--were reported, 21 of which concerned computer chips. No cases of hacking or fraud were reported during that period.

Meningitis

Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the most common laboratory difficulties involved in diagnosing whether a patient is suffering from C group meningitis. [13018]

Mr. Horam [holding answer 27 January 1997]: Pre-treatment with antibiotics is the main cause of difficulty in diagnosing meningococcal infection. New molecular techniques currently being developed will help overcome this difficulty. A further difficulty is that the organism may be slow to grow which can delay diagnosis.

Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions in the last five years a vaccination programme against type C meningitis has been commenced before there is an established strain link between the cases involved. [13013]

Mr. Horam [holding answer 27 January 1997]: Meningococcal immunisation programmes are advised only when the epidemiological evidence supports a link between the cases and at least one case has been identified as group C infection. Data on meningococcal immunisation programmes have been collected centrally only for the period since April 1995. We are aware of three community and 10 schools' meningococcal immunisation programmes in the period 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996. Data are collected each March for the preceding full year. We are aware that all three community immunisation programmes and five of the school programmes were linked by the same strain.

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Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate how long it currently takes, on average, for a microbiology laboratory test to identify whether a patient is suffering from the C group of meningitis.[13015]

Mr. Horam [holding answer 27 January 1997]: When alive meningococcus is isolated from a case--currently about 60 per cent. of cases--provisional confirmation of the serogroup as "C" can usually be made within 24 hours. Confirmation of this provisional typing will take longer. Quite frequently a meningococcus is not isolated, usually as a consequence of successful pre-hospital antibiotic treatment by the general practitioner, and confirmation of the "C" strain can then be done only by molecular methods at a reference laboratory. It cannot be achieved in all cases, and takes up to two weeks. In some cases, molecular methods do not provide a diagnosis and serological tests may then show evidence of infection several weeks after the acute episode.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Prison Visits

Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual budget of the assisted prison visits scheme; what are the costs of administering the scheme in (i) the Northern Ireland Office and (ii) the Department of Health and Social Services; how many claims have been made from each of the prisons in Northern Ireland; and how much was allocated in payments to prisoners' families in each of the last five years. [14090]

Sir John Wheeler: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Northern Ireland Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. Alan Shannon. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Alan Shannon to Ms Majorie Mowlam, dated 5 February 1997:

The Secretary of state has asked me to reply to the Parliamentary Question you tabled relating to the Assisted Prison Visits Scheme.
The Assisted Prison Visits Scheme in Northern Ireland is administered, on behalf of the Prison Service, by the Benefits Agency of the Department of Health and Social Services through its network of local offices. Claims are made in person and are paid in advance, either by travel warrant or by Girocheque.
The costs of the scheme, including the administration costs, are wholly borne by the Prison Service and are made up of the administration fee charged by the Benefits Agency, the staff costs (which are not separately quantified but which are in the order of £15k per annum) incurred by the Service and the amounts paid to eligible claimants.
The table below illustrates the breakdown of costs from the beginning of the 1992/93 financial year to 31 December 1996, the latest date for which figures are available. You will note that the number of claims paid in each year is split into local claims and those to prisons in England and Wales and Scotland; visits to Channel island prisons or the Isle of Man prison are not covered.

Financial year	Visits in Northern Ireland	Visits in Great Britain	Total paid out £ thousand	Administration costs £ thousand	Total cost £ thousand
1992-93	2,266	231	76.6	15.0	91.6
1993-94	2,437	344	95.0	17.4	112.4
1994-95	2,396	357	110.0	18.0	128.0
1995-96	2,336	257	86.7	17.6	104.3
1996-97	1,834	367	82.4	15.9	98.3




(34) Against a 1996-97 baseline provision of £145.0 thousand.

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In order to come into line with the rest of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland increased the number of paid visits in any 12 month period to 26, with effect from January 1996.
I hope this is helpful.

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