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Drug Wastage
12. Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome): What plans he has to reduce wastage of prescribed drugs in the NHS. [137647]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Ms Gisela Stuart): In September, we published
our pharmacy programme, "Pharmacy in the future--implementing the NHS Plan", which sets out a range of initiatives designed to help patients to get the most out of their medicines and to reduce waste. We shall invest at least £30 million in the next three years to support that work.
Mr. Heath: I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. First, I should like to express my gratitude to St. Thomas's hospital for recently allowing a visit by members of the all-party pharmacy group. Does the hon. Lady agree that the practice now established at that hospital, of identifying and using GP-prescribed drugs in the hospital, is an obvious example of good practice?
Secondly, will the Minister address the issue of patient packs for in-patient discharge? The packs are often based on one month's supply, whereas what is needed to use the drugs effectively is one or two weeks' supply.
Ms Stuart: I am aware of the hon. Gentleman's visit, and I have read the reports of it. It was useful. We believe that it is important to encourage patients to use prescribed medicines and to bring them to hospital. That is why the NHS Executive regional office will be rolling out a performance management framework later this year, which will deal with medicine management in hospitals. With regard to the use of patient packs, considerable progress can be made by re-engineering hospital pharmacies, but there will always be some patients for whom patient packs will have to be broken up, and we must ensure that they receive the correct information. Hospitals and the pharmaceutical companies need to address that.
Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker: Order. I shall deal first with the application under Standing Order No. 24.
Biwater Takeover
3.30 pm
Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire): I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 24, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
- the decision of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry not to refer the takeover of Biwater (Clay Cross) Ltd. to the Competition Commission, leading to the immediate loss of 700 jobs.
The Biwater plant at Clay Cross was bought, first, to close down a competitor, secondly, to grab order books for transfer to Saint-Gobain's overseas empire, and thirdly, to transfer the plant to India.
Biwater was commercially viable, with many of its exports going to third-world nations for the movement of water supplies. The loss of the Clay Cross plant, which was established by George Stephenson in 1837, will devastate the surrounding area. Seventy-five per cent. of the workers live within a five-mile radius of the plant. Fifty-six jobs went last Friday, and pipe production will end this Friday.
The means of saving the plant is for the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to use powers under the Fair Trading Act 1973 to refer the takeover to the Competition Commission, and then for the commission to come up with a decent judgment. Unfortunately, the Office of Fair Trading and the Secretary of State have refused to call in the Competition Commission.
The voice of Parliament urgently needs to be heard, to discuss the situation and get the Secretary of State to reverse his disastrous decision. Already, 200 Government Back Benchers--that is, 75 per cent. of those eligible to sign early-day motions--have signed an early-day motion asking for this action by the Secretary of State. May we have a debate on this weighty matter, Mr. Speaker? Time is fast running out.
Mr. Speaker: I have listened carefully to what the hon. Member for North-East Derbyshire (Mr. Barnes) has said. I have to give my decision without stating any reasons. I am afraid that I do not consider that the matter that he has raised is appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 24, and I cannot therefore submit the application to the House.
Points of Order
3.34 pm
Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I ask for your ruling on the conduct of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food? At Agriculture questions last week I was drawn to ask oral question 7, which was:
- To ask the Minister of Agriculture to make a statement on the Government's policy in respect of the regulation of imports of French beef into the United Kingdom.
I am raising the matter now on a point of order because yesterday the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food issued a press release in which the Minister of Agriculture dealt with precisely the question that I asked. He claimed to have written to the Prime Minister about it and to have raised the matter at the Council of Ministers in Brussels. Is it not out of order, and grossly discourteous to the House, for Ministers unilaterally to pull awkward and untimely oral questions? Can you give us some protection, Mr. Speaker, when Ministers engage in such activity?
Mr. Speaker: Order. What Ministers say outside the House has nothing to do with me. The hon. Gentleman informed me in advance of his point of order, but I am afraid that I cannot help him. "Erskine May" makes it clear that it is a long-established principle that decisions on the transfer of questions rest with the Minister, not the Chair. I note that the hon. Gentleman waited two weeks to raise this matter with me, and I hope that in future such cases are put in writing and do not take up valuable time on the Floor of the House.
Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. For quite some time there have been comments in the press that this Parliament is such that the House of Commons no longer counts, is virtually dead and so on. May I bring to your attention, Mr. Speaker--although that is not really necessary, as you were here for part of the time--our debate last night on immigration appeals and the controversy over fees. Does that not demonstrate the fact that the House of Commons is far from dead? Moreover, as a result of the deep concern expressed by my hon. Friends, the Home Secretary conceded an important point in his concluding remarks.
I bring this to your attention, Mr. Speaker, only because some of us are sick and tired of the accusation that the Chamber no longer counts in this Parliament. Last night, quite apart from all the other occasions, that accusation was given the lie.
Mr. Speaker: The hon. Gentleman makes a valuable point, and I do not need to add anything to what he said.
Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst): Further to the point of order raised by the hon. Member for
Twickenham (Dr. Cable), Mr. Speaker, would you consider looking again at the way in which Ministers can delay and prevaricate on questions, and see if you can satisfy yourself about the relationship that should exist between the House of Commons and the Executive? If, by transferring or deferring questions, Minister are able to avoid being held accountable for the very thing that the House is supposed to hold them accountable for--their conduct as Ministers--surely that relationship has broken down. I am not asking for an answer now Mr. Speaker, but can you think about the role that you might play in seeking to restore that balance before Ministers run riot and avoid this place altogether.
Mr. Speaker: The right hon. Gentleman knows more about being a Minister than I do. However, I would advise him to take these matters up with the Procedure Committee.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker: I will take a point of order from the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner).
Mr. Skinner: If you do any research into the subject of transferring questions, Mr. Speaker, I suggest that you take some advice from the right hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Mr. Forth), who used to be a Minister, and was one of those Euro-fanatics. The right hon. Gentleman also supported all the modernisation that took place under the Tories. If you do some research on him, Mr. Speaker, you will find that he transferred more questions than most of the others put together.
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