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3 Mar 2004 : Column 1036W—continued
Domiciliary Care Agencies
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which conditions have been relaxed for domiciliary care agencies registered with conditions by the National Care Standards Commission; and for what length of time they have been relaxed. [156296]
Dr. Ladyman: Domiciliary care agencies must comply with the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002 in order to be registered by the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC). These requirements have not been relaxed. Conditions are set by the NCSC at the
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point of registration after an assessment has been made of the fitness of the service against regulations and taking into account National Minimum Standards.
The NCSC published guidance on 12 December 2003, setting out circumstances in which conditions could be attached to registration.
Drug-related Deaths
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in meeting the target of reducing the number of drug-related deaths since 1999. [156291]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The number of drug related deaths since 1999 is shown in the table.
| England and Wales | England only | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,571 | 1,484 |
| 2000 | 1,666 | 1,565 |
| 2001 | 1,628 | 1,528 |
| 2002 | 1,565 | 1,456 |
Notes:
1. Since the publication of drug related deaths in 2001 in February 2003, additional substances have become controlled. Earlier years' data have been updated to reflect these drugs. This means that the new data are comparable across the time period, despite the fact that some of the drugs were not controlled in the earlier years.
2. The 2002 figures, published by the Office for National Statistics on 26 February 2004, show a fall in the number of drug related deaths for the second consecutive year and the figure is now below the 1999 baseline.
Source:
Office for National Statistics.
Equine Slaughter
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many slaughterhouses are licensed for the slaughter of equines. [156565]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that in the United Kingdom twelve slaughterhouses are licensed to slaughter equines; 11 in England and one in Northern Ireland.
Medical Training(EU Accession States)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether medical training in the accession states conforms to the minimum EU requirements. [156297]
Mr. Hutton: All accession states are committed to ensuring that the qualifications they award to doctors who began their training on or after the date of accession meet specified minimum European Community requirements. Their holders can then benefit from automatic recognition throughout the EC. Practitioners from these states who are already qualified or are currently in training must show that they either meet these requirements in full or have recent and substantial practice experience.
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Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the number of (a) nurses and (b) midwives from accession countries who will seek to work in the United Kingdom following accession. [156861]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 27 February 2004]: No estimate has been made.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council will, in due course, will have statistics about the numbers of nurses and midwives from accession countries who join its register.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) nurses and (b) midwives from EU accession countries would currently be able to work in the United Kingdom using qualifications from their home country if they were given permission to seek work in the UK. [156863]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 27 February 2004]: Relevantly qualified practitioners from the accession states will be able to work in the United Kingdom after accession.
All nationals from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia who find work in the United Kingdom will be required to register with the Home Office under the new Worker Registration Scheme as soon as they find work.
Flu Vaccine
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the take-up rates for influenza vaccine were at 1 January (a) in England and (b) broken down by (i) primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority. [154353]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information on the uptake rates for flu vaccine in those aged 65 and over for 2003–04 by primary care trust and strategic health authority has been placed in the Library.
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will change the guidelines on free influenza vaccinations to include carers. [156687]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Policy for those receiving free flu vaccination is currently under review. Carers are one of the groups under consideration.
Food Supplements Directive
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) for what reasons his Department opposed the application to the High Court in London brought by the Health Food Manufacturers Association, the National Association of Health Stores and Consumers for Health Choice for leave to appeal to the European Court of Justice against the provisions of the Food Supplements Directive; upon what date the case was heard; what the outcome of the case was; and if he will make a statement; [155194]
- (2) if he will make funds available to the Health Food Manufacturers Association, the National Association of Health Stores, and Consumers for Health Choice to
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- enable them to proceed to the European Court of Justice with their case relating to the Food Supplements Directive; [155195]
(3) on what date in 2003 the Minister for Public Health met industry representatives to discuss their concerns about the Food Supplements Directive; on what date the Minister subsequently approached the office of Commissioner Byrne to seek a meeting to discuss those issues; on what dates the approach was subsequently pursued; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the failure so far to arrange such a meeting. [155196]
(4) when the Minister for Public Health next expects to meet representatives of the Health Food Manufacturers Association, the National Association of Health Stores, and Consumers for Health Choice to discuss their concerns about the Food Supplements Directive; and what progress the Minister will report at that meeting; [155197]
(5) what information he has received about the timing of the case being taken to the European Court of Justice in relation to the Food Supplements Regulations; what assistance he intends to give the Health Food Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Health Stores in preparing that case; and if he will make a statement. [155198]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The National Association of Health Stores (NAHS) and The Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA) have challenged The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 and The Food Supplements (Wales) Regulations 2003 on grounds that the underlying Directive is in part invalid because of incompatibility with Community law. They sought a reference to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the validity of the relevant parts of the Directive and then the quashing of the relevant part of the England and Wales Regulations.
At a hearing on 30 January 2004 the judge gave permission for judicial review of the Regulations and ordered that there be a reference to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling in respect of the validity of the Directive. Formal reference to the ECJ is likely to take place around the end of February. I understand that the ECJ takes approximately 24 months to give a preliminary ruling; however the national court will request expedition by the ECJ.
Article 10 of the European Community Treaty imposes a duty on member states to take all appropriate measures to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of the Treaty or resulting from action taken by institutions of the Community. The Government had a responsibility to ensure that the full arguments concerning the validity of the Directive were put before the court, so that it could see the reasoning on both sides before deciding whether to grant permission for the case to proceed and whether to order that a reference be made to the ECJ.
The Government have no plans to make funds available to the claimants. At the appropriate point the United Kingdom like other member states will decide on what if any observations it will make to the ECJ.
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I met with industry representatives to discuss their concerns about the Food Supplements Directive on 7 October 2003.
Since then I have been seeking to arrange a discussion about the setting of EC maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements with Commissioner Byrne at the earliest practical opportunity. As to the timing of this meeting, it should be noted that we do not expect the Commission's proposal on maximum levels for another two to three years and there are currently no formal EC discussions on maximum levels under way.
I have no current plans to meet representatives of the Health Food Manufacturer's Association, the NAHS and Consumers for Health Choice again. However, I will consider a further meeting when I have discussed maximum levels with Commissioner Byrne and the industry has experience of submitting safety dossiers to the European Food Safety Authority so that discussions can also cover how that process is working.
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