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Carcinogenic Chemicals in the Environment

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley asked Her Majesty's Government:

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): It is estimated that the total government spend in support of cancer research was over £53 million in 1997-98. This excludes support for basic research such as gene mutation and cellular biology which underpins studies addressing the cause, diagnosis, pathology and treatment of cancer.

Of this, it is estimated that over £785,000 was spent on projects focusing directly on the carcinogenic effects of chemicals in the environment. This excludes support for basic research on the human body's reaction to chemicals and other toxins in the environment and in food, and other related research--for example, on variation in sensitivity to chemicals among population subgroups and on geographical distribution of cancers. Further projects have been commissioned more recently, worth a total of £400,000.

The charity sector and industry are also major investors in cancer research. It is estimated that over £247 million was spent in 1997-98, but it is not possible to identify how much of this was spent on research targeted at the possible carcinogenic effects of chemicals in the environment.

Disclosure

The Earl of Haddington asked Her Majesty's Government:

Lord Burlison: The Government are aware of concerns about the operation of the disclosure

7 May 1999 : Column WA118

provisions following changes to the law, which were implemented in April 1997. I understand that the Director of Public Prosecutions has recently initiated a programme of work which will focus on the essential basic principles of disclosure, with special emphasis on the prosecution duty to ensure a fair trial. In the light of this work, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary has asked Home Office officials to consider what further needs to be done.

Human Rights Bodies and the UK: Recommendations

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

    What recommendations have been made by the Human Rights Committee, the Committee Against Torture, and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination about possible acceptance by the United Kingdom of the jurisdiction of those bodies to receive complaints from individuals of breaches by the United Kingdom of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination; and when such recommendations were made.[HL2174]

Lord Burlison: The Human Rights Committee recommended that the United Kingdom should reconsider its position on the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights following hearings on the United Kingdom's Third and Fourth Periodic Reports in April 1991 and July 1995 respectively.

The Committee Against Torture recommended that the United Kingdom should make a declaration under Article 22 of the Convention Against Torture following the hearing on the United Kingdom's Second Periodic Report in November 1995.

The Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended in August 1993 that the United Kingdom should make a declaration under Article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination following the hearing on the United Kingdom's Twelfth Periodic Report. No specific recommendations of this kind have been made by this committee following the hearings on the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Periodic Reports, although some members of the committee did suggest that the United Kingdom should reconsider its position.

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