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Biotechnology
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the Minister of State's letter of 23 August to the Member for Linlithgow, what assessments she has made of proposals she has received from (a) the Gaia Foundation and (b) other organisations concerning the European Commission's proposed directive on the Legal Protection of Biotechnological Inventions; and what reply her Department has sent. [12860]
Mr. Battle:
Consultation on the proposed directive has so far involved written representations from well over 100 interest groups, including those concerned with health care, the environment, animal welfare and the Church. There has also been a special meeting of the Standing Advisory Committee on Industrial Property which advises the Government on matters relating to patents, at which the Gaia Foundation and others gave their views on the
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proposed Directive. Following this meeting, the Gaia Foundation, the Women's Environmental Network and others met my officials at the Patent Office to discuss the directive. During this consultation, there has been ongoing discussions with all other Government Departments having an interest in the directive.
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are her plans for the future of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation; and if she will make a statement. [12480]
Mr. Battle:
The Charity Commission is currently reviewing the role of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation and the associated mining charities and are due to report soon. I wish to await the outcome of the review and assess its implications before taking a view on the way forward.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many days she spent in the office between 1 August and 5 October inclusive, counting a working day as eight hours of meetings or working on papers in the office. [13046]
Mrs. Beckett:
I have not worked it out and have no intention of spending the time required to do so.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list all the shareholdings of Ministers in her Department and their wives or husbands, whether now held in a blind trust or not, including where they have been transferred, and the shares held at the point of transfer. [13045]
Mrs. Beckett:
No. The Government have published the requirements on Ministers in the ministerial code; DTI Ministers are acting in accordance with these requirements. It has never been the practice of previous Ministers, including DTI Ministers, to publish details of their shareholdings, except insofar as this is required by the Register of Members' Interests; they have from time to time made public statements about their decision to stand aside from particular issues where that has been thought desirable in particular circumstances. This approach, reflecting that of previous Administrations to this issue, seems to the Government to satisfy the public interest.
Hepatitis C
Miss Melanie Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's policy in respect of screening for, and treatment of, hepatitis C. [12300]
Ms Jowell:
Blood donations have been screened for antibodies to hepatitis C virus since September 1991 when reliable tests first became available. Recipients of blood or blood components donated before that date from donors since found to be carriers of hepatitis C virus are being traced in order to provide counselling, testing and
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specialist referral as appropriate. Organs and tissue, resulting from either live or cadaveric donations, are also screened for hepatitis C.
Injecting drug misusers who share contaminated equipment are at increased risk of acquiring hepatitis C infection. The guidance to purchasers of drug treatment and care services, which the Department issued in March 1997, included advice for purchasers on dealing with those who seek testing for hepatitis C. The "Guidelines for Doctors on the Clinical Management of Drug Misusers" last issued in 1991 are currently being revised and will be published next year. They will include updated advice on the management of hepatitis C in drug misusers.
There is a need to increase knowledge about the natural history, prevalence, transmission and treatment of hepatitis C so that the National Health Service is equipped to deliver services based on the best scientific advice available about the disease. In 1996, the Department made £1 million available for research in these areas. The results of the research commissioned so far will become available over the next three years. A further £500,000 will be allocated this year to expand the research programme.
In addition, the NHS Health Technology Assessment is considering research proposals to establish the effectiveness of the early treatment of chronic hepatitis C with alpha interferon. The NHS Executive is funding the Royal College of Physicians to facilitate the development of clinical guidelines on the appropriate use of alpha interferon in patients with hepatitis C.
Miss Melanie Johnson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made as to the economic and social consequences to individuals and to the Exchequer of not treating hepatitis C. [12301]
Ms Jowell:
Attempts to estimate the long term consequences of hepatitis C to the individual and the Exchequer are confounded by the unpredictability of the progression of the disease. Some individuals will clear the virus naturally, developing no long term symptoms, and others will go on to develop liver disease but often not for 20 to 30 years after initial infection with the virus. A proportion of those with liver disease will go on to develop liver failure or liver cancer.
Current knowledge about the natural history is insufficient to make firm estimates of the type requested. There is a comprehensive programme of research in place examining the natural history, transmission and prevalence of hepatitis C. Consideration is also being given through the Health Technology Assessment Programme to funding a clinical trail to examine the clinical and the cost effectiveness of treating hepatitis C with drug therapy at an earlier stage than is current clinical practice. These studies should enable some comparison to be made about the relative clinical effectiveness of treatment at different stages of the disease and will facilitate the evaluation of the economic and social costs of hepatitis C.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Department's letter of 24 September
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(POH/3/5437/14), if he has taken steeps to ascertain the background and results of Finnish research on phosphates in drinking water. [12858]
Ms Jowell:
The background and results of the Finnish research have been considered. We do not believe that they have any implications for the levels of phosphorus present in United Kingdom drinking water supplies.
Mr. Bill O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will announce the 1998-99 hospital and community health services revenue allocations for health authorities. [13394]
Mr. Dobson:
The 1998-99 hospital and community health services revenue allocations for weighted populations are given, by health authority, in the following table.
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