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Cattle Cull

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he is taking to ensure the saleability of cattle born after 1 August 1996. [9543]

Mr. Rooker [holding answer 21 July 1997]: We are discussing with the European Commission a proposal to allow the export of meat from cattle born after a specified date. The first of August 1996 is a key date as, from that date, it became an offence to use or possess mammalian meat and bone meal on a farm and remaining stocks on farms had to be surrendered by that date. This, together with the introduction of cattle passports in July 1996, means that we are able to offer additional safeguards in respect of animals born after that date to our trading partners.

HEALTH

Ministerial Responsibilities

Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list his top three priority issues in respect of each of the sub-headings to each area of responsibility listed in respect of the list of ministerial responsibilities of each of his Department's Ministers. [9816]

Ms Jowell: The list of ministerial responsibilities referred to is not a template for the priorities of the Department of Health. The broad scope of the Department means that each Minister has responsibility for particular areas of work, but priorities are set across the whole Department, and every Minister's areas of responsibility feed into them. For this reason, a list of issues categorised by the sub-headings in that list would not encapsulate our priorities.

Public Health Initiatives

Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce joint funding for health authorities and local authorities in respect of joint initiatives on public health. [10176]

Ms Jowell: Joint working between health and local authorities and other statutory and voluntary bodies will be an important element in delivering our manifesto commitments on public health. We shall be looking at ways to encourage co-operative working across such boundaries.

Psychiatric Care

Mr. Singh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy in respect of mixed wards in psychiatric

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hospitals with particular reference to the specific religions and cultural concerns of members of ethnic minority communities. [9968]

Mr. Boateng: We recognise that there are some problems for particular ethnic minorities. Our policy is set out in "The Patient's Charter and Mental Health Services" which says that

"if you would prefer to be cared for in single sex accommodation your wishes will be respected wherever possible"

In January this year, the NHS chief executive wrote to all health authorities and trusts to ask them to set targets in relation to upholding patient privacy and dignity including safe facilities for patients who are mentally ill.

Solvent Abuse

Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the figures for deaths from solvent and volatile substances abuse by (a) region, (b) product abused and (c) age in the last year for which figures are available.[10223]

Ms Jowell: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Mr. Dobbin) on 30 June Official Report, columns 30-31. The report is also available on the Internet on http:/www.sghms.ac.uk/phs/index.htm.

Quangos

Mr. David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the quangos within his Department's responsibility which he has to date announced his intention (a) to abolish and (b) to make subject to a significant element of democratic accountability. [9674]

Ms Jowell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not yet announced the abolition of any of the Department's quangos. However, the Department is to take part in a Government-wide review of quangos, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 18 June, Offical Report, column 174, to identify any suitable for merger or abolition. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced his intention that future national health service trust board meetings will be held in public. In addition, those appointed to serve on NHS trusts and health authorities will be more representative of the community they serve, including more users of NHS services, more carers and more people involved in representing the community's interests. These measures will improve the accountability of local NHS boards to local people.

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcal Infection

Mr. David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported cases of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infection there were in (a) 1996 and (b) 1997 to date. [9994]

Ms Jowell: No central data on the number of cases of infection with vancomycin-resistant enterococci are collected. However, national epidemiological data are compiled by the Public Health Laboratory Service, from isolates--specimens of bacteria isolated from patients--submitted voluntarily by hospitals in England and Wales for specialist microbiological tests. The total number of isolates submitted in 1996 was 1,800 and for 1997 the

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figure is 203 to the end of May 1997. These data do not record the number of affected patients or the proportion of cases of infection rather than colonisation--non-infected carrier state--with VRE. However, the PHLS estimates that about 10 per cent. of these totals represent cases of true infection due to the organism.

Mesothelioma

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will include mesothelioma as a topic for inclusion in the work carried out by (a) the UK Cochrane Centre and (b) the NHS centre for reviews and dissemination. [10534]

Mr. Boateng: The United Kingdom Cochrane centre and the national health service centre for reviews and dissemination plan to address mesothelioma in the context of their wider work on lung cancer.

Cancer

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the 1995 expert advisory group on cancer; which recommendations have yet to be implemented; and what factors underlie the non-implementation of those recommendations not yet implemented. [10537]

Mr. Boateng: The Government have given their full support to the implementation of the recommendations of the 1995 expert advisory group on cancer and £10 million has been made available recurrently to improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The aim is to ensure that all women have speedy access to high quality diagnosis and treatment, based on Calman/Hine networks of cancer care. Guidance has been published on improving outcomes in breast cancer and on the provision of palliative care services.

A great deal of work has already been undertaken within the national health service to implement the recommendations with much being achieved locally. A key element has been the identification of cancer units and centres and the local agreement of where and what cancers should be treated at each individual hospital. In many regions, this has involved site visits by multi-disciplinary teams to assess cancer provision against agreed cancer standards, to identify strengths and weaknesses and to agree a time scale for change.

Although full implementation is planned to take some five to 10 years, we will continue to ensure that the programme is given a high priority. We are currently considering what further action should be taken both nationally and locally to ensure these improvements to cancer services are taken forward as quickly as possible.

Vitamin B6

Mr. Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the report of the Government's Committee on Toxicity recommending restrictions on the use of vitamin B6 was published; and what further research has been conducted by the committee on toxicity since that date. [10667]

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Ms Jowell: A statement on the toxicity of vitamin B6 by the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment--COT--was made available to the general public on 4 July 1997. Availability was announced in a Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food news release on Government action following COT and Food Advisory Committee advice on vitamin B6.

It is not part of the COT's remit to conduct research. However, it does review the available data on the toxicity of chemicals; this is both papers published in scientific journals and submissions from industry. In this case, the COT considered more than 100 papers before coming to its conclusion.

Mr. Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received recently concerning the sale of vitamin B6. [10666]

Ms Jowell: Both the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have jointly received approximately 1,000 letters making representations about vitamin B6. A significant proportion of these are in a standard format. However, on 23 July my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) and I met representatives of industry groups and nutritional therapy/alternative medicine interests, to listen to their views on the intended changes to the legislation controlling of vitamin B6 containing dietary supplements.

Mr. Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated by his Department concerning the effectiveness of vitamin B6. [10668]

Ms Jowell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not commissioned any research into the effectiveness of vitamin B6. Data from pharmaceutical companies, on the efficacy of medicinal products containing vitamin B6 have been evaluated by the licensing authority and its expert advisory bodies in relation to applications for marketing authorisation submitted to the Medicines Control Agency. Following grant of a marketing authorisation, the MCA continues to monitor efficacy in relation to safety for all authorised medicinal products, including those containing vitamin B6.

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