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Human Embryo Stem Cells

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive the report from the Chief Medical Officer about the use of human embryo stem cells for medical research. [132436]

Yvette Cooper: The Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group on Therapeutic Cloning has completed its work on the potential benefits, risks and the ethical issues raised

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by developments in stem cell research and cell nuclear replacement. We are now considering the report's recommendations.

Human Papilloma Virus

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria will be used to set up the pilot schemes for human papilloma virus testing. [132504]

Yvette Cooper: The final criteria for selection of joint pilot sites for human papilloma virus testing and liquid based cytology have not yet been agreed by the Project Steering Group. They will broadly cover areas such as population size, high quality audit and historical information, number of smears taken annually and meeting national population coverage targets.

Liver Cancer

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of hepatitis C infection levels of Government cancer strategy in relation to liver cancer. [132117]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 24 July 2000]: Studies carried out in a number of countries have shown that a percentage (generally about 1-5 per cent.) of individuals with chronic hepatitis C infection may progress to primary hepatocellular cancer. The Public Health Laboratory Service, in association with the British Association for the Study of the Liver, is setting up a surveillance system to monitor end stage liver disease attributed to hepatitis C.

As part of our modernisation programme for the National Health Service, we are taking action on a number of fronts to ensure prompt access to cancer diagnosis and treatment across the country. This will include improving liver cancer services.

Smoking

Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the total tobacco consumption in the United Kingdom in (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999. [132340]

Yvette Cooper: The number of cigarettes released for home consumption in the United Kingdom were in (a) 1997 81.0 billion (b) 1998 75.3 billion, and (c) 1999 34.2 billion. It is not possible accurately to estimate overall cigarette consumption because of the effects of smuggling and forestalling.

Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, before supporting the proposal for an EU Directive on the manufacture, production and sale of tobacco products he prepared a regulatory impact assessment on the proposal. [132339]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 24 July 2000]: Yes. This assessment was available to the Scrutiny Committees of both Houses of Parliament examining the Directive proposals.

Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which members of staff of Action on Smoking and Health (a) have been and (b) are to be seconded to his Department; and to whom they will be responsible and report. [132342]

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Yvette Cooper [holding answer 24 July 2000]: No member of the Action on Smoking and Health staff has been seconded to the Department and no decisions have been taken on any future arrangement.

Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to continue to authorise the use of the product descriptions (a) low, (b) light, (c) ultra light, (d) mild and (e) other similar terms relating to tobacco products. [132341]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 24 July 2000]: As currently drafted, the Directive on Labelling, Manufacture and Sale of Tobacco Products would ban the use of such descriptions. The original European Commission proposal permitted member states to allow the terms to be used on tobacco products but the United Kingdom has argued strongly against any form of derogation.

Biomedicine

Mr. Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans Her Majesty's Government have to sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine; and if he will make a statement. [131643]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 24 July 2000]: The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine contains a wide range of complex ethical and legal provisions. The rights of patients, whether undergoing medical treatment or research, are central to the Convention. The provisions cover a mixture of devolved matters (such as consent to treatment) and reserved matters (such as embryo research). We are considering the most appropriate way forward in the light of devolution.

Public Records

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will open for public inspection the file DT 33/2055 at the Public Record Office. [132752]

Mr. Denham: File DT 33/2055 contains records of the General Nursing Council for England and Wales (GNC). The decision whether or not to open the file for public inspection is a matter for the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, the successor body to the GNC.

Official Visits

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the visits outside Britain made by his Department's Permanent Secretary on official business since 1 January 1999, indicating the date and purpose of the visit in each case. [132751]

Ms Stuart: The Permanent Secretary visited Bonn, Germany on 17 to 18 May 1999 to discuss the German health system.

Health Service Managers

Mr. Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issues to health authorities or trusts about employment contracts of senior administrative and managerial personnel employed by the NHS; and where they are published. [132708]

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Mr. Denham: The National Health Service Executive have issued guidance to NHS trusts and health authorities on employment contacts in respect of:

the pay and conditions of service for NHS managers in trusts and health authorities who retain residual national arrangements, set out in Personnel Management (86)7 (which also included a model contract for general managers, amended by Health Service Guidance (96)1), and in Health Circular (89)1 (which also included model contract clauses for senior managers);

the pay and conditions for managers in health authorities, effective since 1 April 1998, set out in Health Service Circular 1998/017;

a service-wide policy restricting the use of short term contract for all staff working in the NHS, set out in Health Service Circular 1999/108; and,

guidance on the early termination of general and senior managers fixed term rolling employment contracts, set out in Health Service Circular 199/138 and Health Service Circular 1999/140.

Copies of these are in the Library. Guidance published since 1996 is also available on the Department's website.

Medical Inquiries

Mr. Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce legislation to require the General Medical Council to hold its inquiries in public and to put the conclusions of its inquiries into the public domain. [132706]

Ms Stuart: Much of the fitness to practise work of the General Medical Council is already conducted in public. Decisions that a doctor is not fit to practise are always made public.

The General Medical Council is undertaking a "Structural and Legal Review" of its fitness to practise procedures. The GMC will publish its proposals for modernisation later this year. We will need to consider how far they meet the rising expectations of the public and Parliament for fundamental changes to the way the GMC deals with doctors who do not meet the expected standards of conduct and performance set by the profession. If the Council cannot deliver the reform that is necessary we will act to put into place effective measures for the protection of the public.

Mr. Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issues on non-judicial inquiries into events in the NHS; how many of such inquiries have been conducted; how many reports of such inquiries have been put in the public domain; and how many such inquiries have been carried out by employees of the NHS since May 1997. [132707]

Ms Stuart: Non-statutory inquiries into events in the National Health Service are carried out at many levels of NHS management as part of the management process. They may be initiated internally by staff, through formal mechanisms such as the NHS Complaints Procedures, or through external agencies. Some inquiries may be staffed from within the NHS organisation while others will have the benefit of independent members. No general guidance

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has been issued, although specific information on the NHS Complaints Procedures was issued under cover of Executive Letter (96)19, copies of which are available in the Library.

Full details of these inquiries are not held centrally. For information on inquiries established by the Department since December 1997 I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for North Devon (Mr. Harvey) on 25 July 2000, Official Report, columns 499-500W. all those inquiries listed have either reported publicly or intend to do so.

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