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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 4 June 1997
HEALTH
Departmental Publications
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means his Department makes available its publications in (a) Braille, (b) audio tape and (c) large print; and how this is publicised. [1671]
Mr. Boateng: Publications for those with special needs, including people who are sensorily impaired, are generally distributed through agencies that have regular contact with such people. The Department sends mail shot samples and bulk orders on demand to these specialist agencies.
This is backed up by distributions via public libraries, Citizen's Advice Bureaux and other advice centres, local authorities and patient waiting areas in family doctor surgeries and hospitals.
Where an advertising campaign is associated with the topic concerned, the special versions of a publication may be offered through press advertisements. The publications are also available via the Department's literature response lines.
The Department is in the process of building its own direct mail database which will allow precise targeting of agencies and individuals who will act as channels through which this kind of information can be passed to the end user.
The Department's Internet site is being used increasingly to publicise the existence of its publications, including those for people with special needs, and additional publicity routes, such as public information kiosks, are currently being investigated.
Examples of the types of publication available are given in the following list:
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Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he took to comply with the consultation requirement of the Osteopaths Act 1993 in respect of the nomination of the General Osteopathic Council; [1836]
(3) if directors of companies engaged in the registration and training of osteopaths are excluded from membership of the General Osteopathic Council; and if he will make a statement. [1838]
Ms Jowell:
The nominations exercise leading to the appointments of the Chairman and members of the first General Osteopathic Council was conducted by the previous administration.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Chairman of the General Osteopathic Council is a lay member; and if he will make a statement. [1776]
Ms Jowell:
The Chairman of the General Osteopathic Council, Mr. Simon Fielding OBE, is one of the eight lay members of the Council. Under the transitional provisions of the Osteopaths Act 1993, a lay member of the initial Council is defined as 'a person not appearing to the Privy Council to be a practising osteopath'. Although originally qualified as an osteopath, Mr. Fielding has not been able to practise as an osteopath since September 1988, as a result of injuries sustained in a violent assault. Under the transitional provisions described above, he therefore qualified for appointment as lay member of the Council.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding the composition of the General Osteopathic Council. [1834]
Ms Jowell:
We have received several letters of support from osteopathic organisations for the Chairman and members of the new General Osteopathic Council, and expressing appreciation of their work towards full implementation of the Osteopaths Act.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make the General Osteopathic Council more representative of the profession. [1835]
Ms Jowell:
The Osteopaths Act 1993 makes provision for 12 osteopathic members on the General Osteopathic Council. Arrangements to fill the current vacancy in the osteopathic membership of the Council will be commenced shortly.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the link between the E4 gene and increased risk of neurological damage; and if he will make a statement. [2116]
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Mr. Boateng:
The APO E4 allelle is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. However, this risk is not absolute with only half of those with Alzheimer's disease having E4 and not everyone with E4 developing Alzheimer's. APO E4 is not the only risk factor associated with the disease. There is considerable medical research ongoing in this field including work sponsored by the Medical Research Council which receives its grant-in-aid from the Department of Trade and Industry.
Mr. Hopkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the key business targets for the Medicines Control Agency for 1997-98. [2255]
Ms Jowell:
We have today placed a copy of the 1997-98 key business targets of the Medicines Control Agency in the Library. We shall, of course, be reviewing the Agency's plans and targets for the longer-term.
Mr. Gerrard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what combination therapies are available for prisoners being treated for HIV/AIDS. [1155]
Ms Jowell:
The issue of which therapies to prescribe in combination for individuals with HIV/AIDS is a matter for the treating clinician in consultation with the patient, and taking into account clinical circumstances. Clinical Guidelines outlining the circumstances in which combination therapies would be suitable have recently been published. They are "The British HIV Association Guidelines for Antiretroviral Treatment of HIV Seropositive Individuals", and "The PACT (National Association of Providers of AIDS Care and Treatment) Framework for Antiretroviral Therapy," copies of which are available in the Library.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those areas of the European convention on human rights which he proposes to incorporate into UK law; and if he will make a statement. [1580]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
We propose to incorporate all the rights and freedoms guaranteed under the convention and the First Protocol to it. Some of the provisions in the Convention, such as those relating to the composition of the European Court of Human Rights, are purely procedural and therefore of no domestic relevance.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was his Department's total expenditure on assisted prison visits for people in receipt of specified benefits for the latest year for which figures are available; how many individuals were assisted by such payments; and if he will make a statement. [1569]
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Ms Joyce Quin:
The total cost of assisted visits to prisons in England and Wales for 1996-97 was £3,824,324.
It is not possible to specify the actual number of individuals who received assistance. The Assisted Prisons Visits Unit computer system records only the number of claims forms received and paid (or rejected) but a person eligible for payment under the scheme is entitled to a maximum of 26 assisted prison visits each year.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many visits were made between September and November 1996 by the Named Veterinary Surgeon appointed under section 6(5)(b) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to monitor the welfare of the beagle dogs kept in the Dog Toxicology Unit at Huntingdon Life Sciences; [1761]
Mr. George Howarth:
These figures are not recorded.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the project licences issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which are currently valid at Huntingdon Life Sciences cover procedures classified as being of (a) mild, (b) moderate and (c) substantial severity. [1765]
Mr. Howarth:
Nineteen of the current licences are rated as mild, 27 as moderate and two as substantial. The classification of individual procedures is not recorded on the central database.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the project licences issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to carry out scientific procedures at Huntingdon Life Sciences were subject to the scrutiny of the Animal Procedures Committee. [1763]
Mr. Howarth:
Two of the current licences were considered by the Animal Procedures Committee prior to granting.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the project licences authorising the carrying-out of scientific procedures at Huntingdon Life Sciences have been issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [1764]
Mr. Howarth:
There are currently 48 project licences issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at that establishment.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions between September and November 1996 the Home Office Inspectorate visited Huntingdon Life Sciences, under section 18(2) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; how many of these visits were to monitor scientific procedures in the
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Dog Toxicology Unit; what reports were made to him in accordance with section 18(2)(e); and how many animals were considered to be undergoing excessive suffering and dealt with in accordance with the procedure laid down in section 18(3) of the Act following these visits. [1760]
Mr. Howarth:
Six inspectorate visits were made to the establishment in that period. Dog Toxicology Units were visited on three occasions; on two of these, the performance of regulated procedures was observed. One visit involved two Inspectors.
Reports on each of these visits were produced and forwarded to the Chief Inspector.
No excessive suffering, requiring animals to be put down, was observed.
TITLE/TYPE OF PUBLICATION
Braille
Patient's Charter (also available in audio cassette version)
Practical Guide for Disabled People (HB6)
NHS Reforms and You (also available in Moon and audio cassette versions)
NHS Complaints--Listening, Asking, Improving
Maternity Services--Patient Charter
How to get the best from Maternity Services
While You Are Pregnant--Safe Eating
Audio cassette
Health of the Nation
How to get the best from Maternity Services
While you Are Pregnant--Safe Eating
Keep Well Keep Warm
Practical Guide for Disabled People (HB6)
NHS Complaints--Listening, Asking, Improving
Large print
Keep Warm Keep Well (also available in audio cassette version)
Practical Guide for Disabled People (HB6)
Health and Well-Being: A Guide for Older People
NHS Complaints--Listening, Asking, Improving
While You Are Pregnant--Safe Eating
(2) for what reason principals and vice-principals of osteopathic training institutions are excluded from membership of the General Osteopathic Council; and when the decision was made to exclude them; [1837]
(2) on how many occasions between September and November 1996 the named day-to-day care person appointed under section 6(5) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to be responsible for the welfare of the protected animals being held in the Dog Toxicology Unit at Huntingdon Life Sciences, notified personal licence holders that they were concerned for the health or welfare of an animal, in accordance with the procedure laid down in section 6(6)(a) of the Act. [1762]
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