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Medical Insurance (Tax Relief)
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to (a) reduce and (b) remove the tax relief upon medical insurance premiums; and what consultations he has had with Treasury Ministers upon this subject. [2364]
Mr. Milburn: This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Surrogacy
Mr. Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review the law on surrogacy; and if he will make a statement. [3622]
Ms Jowell: It is important that in an area as sensitive as surrogacy the law is kept under review in order to ensure that it continues to meet public concerns.
The legal position regarding surrogacy is clear:
In view of current concern, UK health ministers have invited a small team with the relevant expertise to take stock and reassess the adequacy of existing law in this difficult area.
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The Terms of Reference for the review are as follows:
We have specifically asked the review team to consider the issue within the context that surrogacy should not be commercialised and that any woman who has a baby as part of a surrogacy arrangement should not be compelled to give it up if she changes her mind. We also want to know whether there is, realistically, any practical way in which surrogacy arrangements could or should be regulated and if so how.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the most recent date for which figures are available the number of people in the Mid Essex Hospital Trust area awaiting non-emergency treatment (a) up to 12 months, (b) up to 18 months, (c) up to 24 months and (d) over 24 months. [2250]
Ms Jowell:
The latest available information gives the position on 31 March 1997. On that date 6,164 patients were waiting for admission to Mid Essex Hospital Trust, on either an inpatient or day case basis, of whom 6,063 had been waiting less than 12 months and none of whom had been waiting more than 18 months.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to issue guidance to general practitioners and primary health care teams about carers' rights under the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995; [2310]
(3) what steps he intends to take to ensure that (a) carers receive written results of assessments carried out under the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 and (b) local authority staff are informed about carers' rights. [2312]
Mr. Boateng:
The Department issued Policy Guidance and a Practice Guide on implementing the Act to social services departments, health authorities and National Health Service trusts in February 1996. The Guidance notes that general practitioners and other primary care staff are well placed to advise carers who are their patients of their assessment rights under the Act. The Guidance makes clear that social services departments should ensure that primary care staff have the relevant information to fulfil this role.
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The Guidance also requires social services departments to ensure that their published information on community care tells carers about their rights under the Act. Information should be available to carers when they need it; it should be accessible to all members of the community and easy to understand.
It should also be part of routine assessment practice and, specifically, authorities are expected to inform carers who appear to be eligible under the Act of their right to request an assessment. Care plans and results of assessments should be confirmed in writing, or in a form which is accessible both to users and carers.
As part of our programme of research on community care, we are considering the impact of the Act. An inspection by the Social Services Inspectorate is also in preparation, which will look at how local authorities are implementing the Act.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage and how many documents in 1996 he estimates were (a) passed on to the Public Record Office intact, (b) passed on to the Public Record Office in censored form, (c) retained by his Department in full, (d) retained by his Department in part, (e) destroyed, (f) otherwise disposed of, and (g) otherwise unaccounted for. [2509]
Mr. Boateng:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department gave today.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning the overuse of neuroleptic drugs in residential homes for the elderly; and if he will make a statement. [2988]
Mr. Milburn:
Some representations regarding possible overuse of drugs, although not specifically neuroleptics, in residential homes for the elderly have been received from members of the public. It is for the clinician to decide what treatment should be prescribed to best meet individual patients' medical needs.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA have been recorded in each health authority district in each of the last 12 months. [2983]
Ms Jowell:
Information on the total number of cases of infection or colonisation with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not collected centrally in England.
National epidemiological data on MRSA are compiled by the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) rather than centrally by the Department of Health, from isolates submitted voluntarily by hospitals in England and Wales for specialist microbiological tests. From these data the number of incidents of MRSA--ie. three or more patients infected or colonised by the same strain of MRSA in a month from the same hospital--is recorded. The total number of affected cases is not recorded. A table showing
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the number of incidents for the year ending April 1997 for each of the old regional health authorities in England has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the human health risks posed by the use of ivermectin in the treatment of farmed fish; and if he will make a statement. [2103]
Mr. Rooker:
I have been asked to reply.
We are not aware that any assessments of the human health risks posed by the use of ivermectin specifically in the treatment of farmed fish have been made.
Ivermectin is authorised in the EU for use in bovines, pigs, sheep and horses following thorough assessments of all required safety data by the Committee of Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) in order to set a maximum residue limit (MRL). The purpose of MRLs is to ensure that no consumer, however extreme their diet, is at risk from the consumption of animal products containing residues at or above the level of the MRL.
However, since this issue was last examined, the number of difficult cases which have attracted public attention has increased, although because so many arrangements are entirely private it is always difficult to make any assessment of the numbers of cases.
surrogacy must not be commercialised; and
surrogacy arrangements are unenforceable.
Margaret Brazier, Professor of Law at Manchester University, will lead the review. The other team members will be: Susan Golombok, who is Professor of Psychology at the City University, London; and Alastair Campbell, Professor of Ethnics in Medicine, University of Bristol.
to consider whether payments, including expenses, to surrogate mothers should continue to be allowed, and if so on what basis;
to examine whether there is a case for the regulation of surrogacy arrangements through a recognised body or bodies; and if so to advise on the scope and operation of such arrangements;
in the light of the above to advise whether changes are needed to the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985 and/or section 30 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.
(2) what steps he intends to take to ensure that carers are informed of their rights under the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995; [2311]
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