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Strokes
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the evidence his Department has collated on the determination of the type of physical therapy available to stroke victims in their recovery period. [143270]
Mr. Denham: The Department funded the Royal College of Physicians to develop evidence based clinical guidelines for stroke which include guidelines for stroke rehabilitation. The Royal College has also conducted two sentinel audits of stroke services which include data on rehabilitation for stroke patients. Clinicians at local level decide the therapy needed in each individual case.
Medicines Directive
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the Medicines Control Agency has made in promoting, within Europe, its proposals for a Traditional Use Medicines Directive; and what the main provisions are of its proposals. [143447]
Ms Stuart: At the European Pharmaceutical Committee in September member states agreed the case for a directive on traditional medicinal products. The European Commission subsequently circulated a preliminary draft to member states in order to assess the range of views about possible specific provisions. The proposals draw from work carried out by an expert working group of the Committee for which the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) acted as rapporteur. We will place copies of the text in the Library. The MCA has recently held discussions with representatives of herbal interest groups to discuss our response to the Commission's proposals.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the extent to which the proposed Traditional Use Medicines Directive will provide a secure legal basis for products which are (a) combinations of herbal and other ingredients for which 30 years safe traditional use can be demonstrated and (b) combinations of herbal and other ingredients which have been brought more recently to market. [143430]
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Ms Stuart: Many products consisting of combinations of herbal and other ingredients can currently be sold legally, for example under food or cosmetic law, and we anticipate that this will continue to be the case. Where, however, such combination products are classified as medicines they require a marketing authorisation before they can be placed on the market.
At this very early stage in discussions on the European Commission's proposals for a directive on traditional medicinal products it is not yet clear whether coverage would be restricted to traditional herbal medicines or whether in some circumstances traditional medicines containing other ingredients could also be permitted under the terms of the directive.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the extent to which the proposed Traditional Use Medicines Directive will provide a secure legal basis for products which are herbal medicines exempt from licensing under section 12 of the Medicines Act 1968. [143446]
Ms Stuart: If the proposals for a directive on traditional medicinal products can be agreed, we expect that it would provide a secure legal basis for regulating a wide range of traditional herbal remedies of the kind currently sold to the public under section 12(2) of the Medicines Act 1968. It is unlikely that the directive would have a direct impact on arrangements whereby herbalists make up and supply the public with herbal remedies following face to face consultation, as permitted under section 12(1) of the Act.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
General Affairs Council
Mr. Jim Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the General Affairs Council held in Brussels on 4 and 5 December; and if he will make a statement. [141626]
Mr. Vaz: The General Affairs Council (GAC) on 4-5 December adopted the "A" points listed in document no. 14012/00 and noted the resolutions, decisions and opinions adopted by the European Parliament in its session of 13-17 November in Strasbourg listed in document no. 12937/00. Copies of these documents have been placed in the House Libraries.
1. Nice Preparation (External Issues)
The GAC considered the Presidency report to the Nice European Council on European Security and Defence Policy and agreed to submit it to the Nice European Council.
2. Preparations for Nice (Horizontal Issues)
The Presidency outlined the agenda for the Nice European Council and ran through the reports to be presented at it.
The GAC discussed various issues relating to the Inter-governmental Conference. These included enhanced co-operation, the size and composition of the Commission, Qualified Majority Voting and other areas covered in the latest Presidency draft Treaty text. Discussion would continue at the Nice Summit from 7 December.
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4. Enlargement
The GAC agreed a Report on Enlargement to be annexed to the Nice European Council conclusions. The Report reaffirmed the historical perspective of enlargement, confirmed that the EU will be ready to welcome new members from the end of 2002 and welcomed the Commission's Strategy Paper. It is consistent with the Prime Minister's call, in Warsaw in October, for new members to participate in the European Parliament elections in 2004.
5. Turkey Pre-accession Strategy
The GAC reached agreement, pending receipt of the European Parliament's opinion, on the text of Turkey's Accession Partnership; agreed a Framework Regulation providing the legal base for the Partnership; and adopted a proposal guaranteeing 450 million euro (£275.76 million) of European Investment Bank lending to Turkey, to help Turkey implement the provisions of its Customs Union with the EC.
The Presidency reported that there had been no significant progress in its negotiations with the European Parliament. There was no discussion.
North Korea
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he has taken following the establishment of diplomatic relations with North Korea. [141520]
Mr. Battle: Following the decision in October by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary to respond positively to a request from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to establish diplomatic relations, diplomatic relations were established on 12 December 2000.
We hope to appoint a Charge d'Affaires soon who will be based in Seoul. He will be responsible for establishing a resident Embassy in Pyongyang and liaising with the DPRK Government about developing relations between the UK and the DPRK, through, for example, an enhanced English language teaching programme.
EU Treaties
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals there are from EU member states and bodies for further treaties on (a) the codification of the existing powers of the EU, excluding any proposals agreed at the Nice Summit and (b) the definition of the relevant powers and relationship between institutions of the European Union and (i) office holders, (ii) Governments of member states and (iii) democratic institutions. [142386]
Mr. Vaz: The Nice European Council agreed that the next Intergovernmental Conference would take place in 2004.
The issues to be addressed include a more precise delimitation of competencies between the European Union and the member states; the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; a simplification of the treaties with a view to making them clearer and better understood without changing their meaning; and the role of national Parliaments in the European architecture.
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Belarus
Mr. Trend: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent elections in Belarus. [142799]
Mr. Vaz: The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) sent a Technical Assessment Mission to Belarus at the time of the elections on 15 october. It concluded that the elections did not meet international standards for democratic elections, including those formulated in the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the OSCE. A parliamentary Troika drawn from the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe reached similar conclusions. Her Majesty's Government endorse these assessments.
Magdalen College, Oxford
Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of (a) the Department's staff and (b) far eastern embassy and desk staff are graduates of Magdalen College, Oxford. [142519]
Mr. Battle [holding answer 15 December 2000]: This information is not readily available because electronic databases on members of staff do not in all cases indicate which university they attended, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Conflict Resolution
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations his Department has undertaken with non-governmental organisations on the development of the Government's cross-departmental initiative on conflict resolution. [143369]
Mr. Hain: We have not held any formal consultations on the Global Conflict Prevention Pool as yet. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains regular contact with NGOs and academic institutions in the field of conflict prevention, and has worked with a number of NGOs on conflict prevention projects. Along with the DfID and the MOD we will be expanding and developing these contacts as the cross-cutting strategy develops.
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