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17 Jul 2003 : Column 659W—continued
Sunbeds
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the operation of tanning salons following health education authority guidelines which recommend that nobody under the age of 16 should be allowed to use a sunbed; [120086]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential risks to children under the age of 16 of skin cancer from using sunbeds; and if he will make a statement; [120087]
(3) what plans he has to ensure that sunbed salons are regulated to stop children from using salons in a harmful manner; and if he will make a statement. [120088]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The Government acknowledge the risks to young people of exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in all of its forms. On sunbeds specifically, the Health and Safety Executive has
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published guidance for operators and customers of solaria. The advice for people under 16-years-old is that they should not use sunbeds.
There is no conclusive direct evidence that sunbed exposure causes skin cancer from either of the recent reports on the effects of UVR from the National Radiological Protection Board's and from the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection.
However, by far the greatest source of UVR exposure is from the sun. That is why we have taken measures to ensure that parents are encouraged to protect their children. We have, with key stakeholders, developed the SunSmart campaign, run by Cancer Research UK. The campaign was launched in March and funded by the United Kingdom Health Departments. Campaign leaflets and posters have been sent to all general practitioner surgeries, secondary schools and health promotion units. Officials will discuss with Cancer Research UK the possibility of developing a new element to their campaign warning young people of the dangers of using sunbeds.
Telecommunications Masts
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many planning applications have been made to site mobile telecommunications masts on land owned by the Department. [124808]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Since 2001, when the current planning regulations on mobile telecommunications masts came into force, there have been no planning applications or applications for prior approval to site mobile telecommunications masts on land owned by the Department.
Toothpaste
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of toothpaste sold in the UK contained fluoride in the last 12 months. [125194]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department does not collect this information.
Tranquillisers/Anti-depressants
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations the UK has made to the European Medicines Evaluation Agency's review of anti-depressant drugs; [125636]
(2) what steps the UK's representatives to the European Medicines Evaluation Agency's review of anti-depressants have taken to represent the views of pharmaceutical companies; [125637]
(3) what his policy is on representatives of drug companies sitting on public bodies which determine and review the safety of drugs for prescription to the public; [125638]
(4) what representations he has received on the UK members of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency; and whether he was consulted on their appointment. [125639]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: On 12 June 2003, the United Kingdom referred the risks and benefits of the antidepressant Seroxat (paroxetine) to the European scientific committee, the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP) for a Europe-wide evaluation. There are two UK representatives to the CPMP, who are appointed by Ministers, chosen by reason of their role and experience in the evaluation of medicinal products to represent the UK Licensing Authority.
The Medicines Act 1968 requires one of its advisory bodies, the Medicines Commission, to have at least one member with "wide and recent experience of, and shown capacity in" the pharmaceutical industry. There are currently two serving members of the Medicines Commission who are employees of pharmaceutical companies. Advisory bodies do not make determinations on drug safety issues but rather advise the Licensing Authority which may, or may not, accept their advice.
All members of the Medicines Act Advisory committees are required to follow a code of practice relating to declarations of interests in the pharmaceutical industry. The code is rigorously followed at each meeting to ensure the integrity of the advice given to the Licensing Authority by those committees.
Tuberculosis
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) tuberculosis and (b) drug resistant tuberculosis there have been in England in each year since 1997; and how many deaths resulted. [124799]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Notifications of tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) are made to the Health Protection Agency.
The total numbers of TB and MDR TB cases and deaths are shown in the table.
| Number of cases | MDR (%) | Isoniazid resistant (%) | Deaths(24) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 5,664 | 1.4 | 5.6 | 385 |
| 1998 | 5,915 | 1.4 | 6.3 | 392 |
| 1999 | 5,938 | 0.8 | 6.1 | 383 |
| 2000 | 6,379 | 1.1 | 6.5 | 370 |
| 2001 | 6,571 | N/A | N/A | 375 |
| 2002 | (25)6,627 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
(24) England and Wales figure (ONS data).
(25) Provisional figure.
Waiting Lists/Times
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken with respect to the discovery in March that chief executives of some hospitals had altered waiting list figures. [123601]
Mr. Hutton: The Department asked the Audit Commission to carry out a series of spot checks to further improve data quality and to reassure the public that published waiting times statistics remain robust.
The Department asked all trusts subject to spot checks to report back on the auditor's findings and to confirm that action had been taken to address those
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findings. In the three trusts identified by the Audit Commission as deliberately misreporting prompt action was taken. This action involved commissioning independent external reviews and taking appropriate disciplinary action taken, which is still ongoing.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 9 April 2003, Official Report, column 334W, on waiting times, whether anyone waited for more than 24 months for cancer treatment. [118301]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The figures for people waiting over 24 months for heart operations, hip replacements and cancer treatment, which appeared on 9 April 2003, Official Report, column 334W, were incorrectly printed. The Official Report has been notified of the error, which will be corrected in the Bound Volume.
The correct figures are shown in the table.
| Waiting more than 24 months | |
|---|---|
| Heart operations | 0 |
| Hip replacements | 9 |
| Cancer treatment (Neoplasms) | 8 |
Social Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the update of the Wanless report announced in the Budget will include a full examination of the long-term trends in social care, as recommended by the original Wanless report. [109238]
Dr. John Reid: The update of the Wanless report announced in the Budget will not include a full examination of long-term trends in social care.
Welfare Food Scheme
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the impact of the changes to the Welfare Food Scheme on (a) disadvantaged parents and (b) other client groups. [126177]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The proposed changes to the Welfare Food Scheme were consulted upon in October 2002. The consultation exercise included specific focus groups with beneficiaries of the scheme.
A summary report on the outcome of the consultation, which demonstrated strong support for reforming the scheme, was published in March 2003. Both documents are available in the Library.
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