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Bacterial Resistance

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into anti-adhesive therapy to combat bacterial resistance in hospitals. [165025]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has not commissioned research specifically on anti-adhesive therapy to combat bacterial resistance in hospitals. However, a broad strategic programme of research worth over £2.5 million has recently been commissioned, aimed at improving our scientific understanding of anti-microbial resistance.
 
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Mr Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to encourage pharmaceutical companies to research new antibiotics to combat the threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria. [165239]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Our policy concentrates on supporting appropriate prescribing rather than influencing industry's research programmes.

Fertilisation and Embryology

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of new processes to produce stem cell-like cells from the blood. [165027]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government consider that it is too soon to say what kind of stem cells will yield breakthroughs in scientific knowledge enabling new treatments to be developed. The Government are therefore promoting research across a full range of stem cell sources.

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of online human egg matching services. [165032]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The use of donor eggs in treatment in the United Kingdom is subject to the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and is regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Standards of practice for the donation of eggs and their subsequent use in treatment, including remuneration for donors, are set out in the HFEA's code of practice. Payments that may be made to donors are limited to £15.00 per donation plus reasonable expenses. These provisions apply irrespective of the potential donor's country of origin or the route by which they are linked to a potential recipient.

Thalassaemia

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department is taking to fund research into combating beta thalassaemia major. [165250]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Details of research projects relating to beta thalassaemia major funded by, or of interest to, the National Health Service are available on the National Research Register (NRR) at www.update-software.com/national. The NRR currently contains details of around 20 on-going or completed projects with a specific focus on beta thalassaemia, in addition to a larger number of projects covering a wider range of haemoglobinopathies. Many of these projects are funded through allocations made annually to NHS providers for research to meet the priorities and needs of the NHS and to meet the costs to the NHS of hosting research supported by external funders. The total amount allocated to NHS providers in 2003–04 for research and development was £442 million.
 
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The NHS health technology assessment programme has published reviews of Screening for sickle cell disease and thalassaemia (2000) and Antenatal and neonatal haemoglobinopathy screening in the UK (1999). These are    available on the programme's website at www.hta.nhsweb.nhs.uk.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has a long history of research into the causes and treatment of thalassaemia. Since 1980, the MRC molecular haematology unit in Oxford has undertaken both basic research into the process by which multipotential haemopoietic stem cells differentiate into the highly specialised cells found in blood, and also more applied research into how these processes are perturbed in inherited and acquired human genetic disesases (e.g. thalassaemia). The unit has an annual budget of over £2 million. The MRC also supports two grants in this area.

Animal Experiments

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 25 February 2004, Official Report, column 467W, what reasons underlay the decision to authorise the payment towards the cost of research into the public's attitude to research involving animals. [165816]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government supported the 2002 MORI poll because it provided data on public attitudes to inform development of Government policy relating to the use of animals in medical research. The survey also provided data to assess any changes in public attitudes since the 1999 MORI poll carried out for the Medical Research Council.

Sustainable Development

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on his Department's Sustainable Development Strategy. [165441]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health's strategy on sustainable development and the environment is in line with the Government's overall sustainable development strategy, in which health ("expected healthy years of life") is one of the 15 key headline indicators. The Department is currently implementing a change programme which will result in shifting responsibility to the front line and focusing on providing strategic leadership to the National Health Service and social care. A review of the sustainable development strategy is currently under way as part of this process.

The Department's strategy should be viewed in the context of overall health strategies. On-going actions to raise awareness, integrate sustainable development into policy making and enhance operational activities for both the central Department and through advice to the NHS ensures that the Department continues to
 
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contribute to the Government's overall strategy on sustainable development. Progress is reported on the Department's website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/About Us/AimsAndObjectives/SustainableDevelopment/fs/en

The NHS Estates Agency (NHSE) and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA)—both Executive Agencies of the Department—have their own sustainable development/environmental strategies in place. The NHSE has issued a New Environmental Strategy for the NHS and Sustainable Development in the NHS as guidance for the NHS. NHS PASA has a sustainable development policy which it published in February 2003. This policy describes the framework within which NHS PASA will conduct its activities in order to contribute towards global pursuits of sustainable development. There are links to these Agencies' websites at the above address.

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the meetings at which his Department has been present on the delivery of sustainable development across Government as co-ordinated by the Ministerial Sub-committee of Green Ministers. [165442]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department's Green Minister is a member of the ENV(G) Cabinet sub-Committee. Additionally, officials regularly attend working groups and other fora which report directly to ENV(G), related to the development of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. In particular, my officials have been closely involved in the development of procurement targets for the Framework and the Department is represented on the sustainable procurement group.

As part of the public sector food procurement initiative, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is working with government departments to develop food action plans. The Department's NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and its NHS Estates Agency have been working with DEFRA to develop a food procurement action plan which sets a framework and objectives for those Agencies and the wider National Health Service.

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to promote the delivery of sustainable development within Government. [165448]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department is contributing to the Government's forthcoming consultation on the review of the United Kingdom strategy for sustainable development. One of the aims of the review is to step up action in the delivery of sustainable development.

The Department also has an important consultation—Choosing Health?—in train to identify action to improve people's health in preparation for a White Paper to be published this summer. Both consultations will have many aims and goals in common and will be an important means of promoting the sustainable development agenda.

The Department is also leading on cross-Government work on Tackling Health Inequalities: A programme for action, which was published in July 2003 and sets out plans to tackle health inequalities over the next three
 
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years; and on developing a Food and Health Action Plan. Taking this work forward will make a significant contribution to the delivery of sustainable development.

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