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Lord Howell of Guildford asked the Leader of the House:
- Whether the proposal tabled by the Leader of the House of Commons for a Standing Committee on the Convention on the Future of Europe will operate under House of Commons rules or House of Lords rules.[HL4671]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The committee will operate under House of Commons rules.
Lord Howell of Guildford asked the Leader of the House:
- Whether Members of the House of Lords will receive notice of timings of meetings, place of meetings and minutes in relation to the Standing Committee on the Convention on the Future of Europe proposed by the Leader of the House of Commons.[HL4672]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Members of the House of Lords will receive notice of the meetings of this committee as they do of other House committees—i.e. in the minutes of proceedings; in the Committee Office Weekly Agenda (available from the PPO); by way of daily committee broadsheets posted around the House and on the screen in the Central Lobby; and on the website. Members of the European Union Committee will also receive notice directly from their clerk. Any other Member wishing to receive information about the meetings of this committee directly (either on paper or by email) is invited to contact the Clerk of the European Union Committee on extension 6083.
Lord Howell of Guildford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How they propose to contribute to the work of the proposed Standing Committee on the Convention on the Future of Europe in which Members of the House of Lords are invited to participate.[HL4673]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The primary purpose of the Standing Committee is to allow the parliamentary representatives to the convention to report back to Parliament about the work of the convention. The Government stand ready to assist the committee in its work, once it has constituted itself and considered what further contributions it would wish.
MMR Vaccine
Lord Swinfen asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What immunopathological studies they have undertaken, or propose to undertake, to establish whether a pathogenic factor can be identified in children who react adversely to the measles, mumps and rubella jab.[HL4243]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Adverse reactions known to be associated with combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines and contraindications for MMR are listed in the product information for the MMR products. These are also described in Immunisation Against Infectious Disease (a copy of which is available in the Library) and are detailed in materials for parents, such as "MMR—The Facts" . In many cases, as with most medicines and vaccines, the risk factors for the development of adverse reactions to MMR vaccine are not known.
The Department of Health has recently funded an international study, to be conducted by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, to assess further proposed immunopathological mechanisms for the postulated association between measles virus and MMR vaccines and the development of autism and inflammatory bowel disease.
The safety of MMR vaccines is kept under continuous review by the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM). Any new research that may emerge in relation to possible immunopathological risk factors for adverse reactions to MMR vaccines would be carefully reviewed by the MCA and CSM.
Casualty Watch Survey
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their response to the national Casualty Watch survey published by the Association of Community Health Councils in England and Wales.[HL4663]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Department of Health has carefully considered the Casualty Watch survey. We feel that the survey provides only a partial picture of accident and emergency departments. As a snapshot of the service, it does not compare the progress that is being made in the National Health Service over time.
National Service Framework for Older People
Baroness Cumberlege asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How much money was allocated for the implementation of the National Service Framework for Older People; and whether they will provide a detailed breakdown on how the money has been spent.[HL4712]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government are making available by 2003–04 an extra £1.4 billion for new investment in health and social services for older people: £900 million of this extra investment will be for the development of intermediate care services to promote independence and improve the quality of care for older people.
In addition to this, £120 million is being made available over the next three years to convert Nightingale wards for older people into facilities that are more respectful of the dignity that older pople should be afforded.
EU Transport Council, 17 June
Lord Dubs asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the outcome of the EU Transport Council held on 17 June.[HL4890]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston): The Transport Council was held on 17 June in Luxembourg. My right honourable friend the Minister for Transport, Mr Spellar, represented the UK.
The Council adopted two directives on passenger vessel safety. The first of these requires compliance by 2015 by all member states with the higher standards of damage stability for ro-ro passenger ships engaged on international voyages already introduced following the Estonia disaster by eight EU countries, including the UK (the Stockholm agreement). These requirements are complementary to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) standard, aimed at increasing the survivability of damaged ro-ro vessels. The very large majority of UK ro-ro ferries have already been altered to comply with the Stockholm standard and those few remaining will be altered as necessary before the deadline of September 2002.
The second directive on safety of passenger ships makes a number of technical amendments to the existing directive 98/18. I would particulary draw attention to provisions bringing into Community law the IMO rules and standards on high speed craft and placing a duty on member states to encourage owners to improve accessibility to their ships for people with limited mobility.
The Council reached agreement on a directive to open the market for the provision of services, including cargo handling and pilotage, in large and medium-sized ports. For service contracts, there will be maximum durations of 10, 15 and 36 years (plus a
possible further 10 years), respectively, for services with no significant investment, services with significant investment in movable assets, and services with significant investment in immovable assets. In addition, the UK argued successfully for a 40-year period for new ports in the future. The agreed text includes a number of other significant changes which meet many of the concerns we have had on the Commission's original proposals, including protecting working conditions for port workers. The Commission said it would come forward with guidelines as soon as possible to address the important issue of competition between ports.The Council did not reach agreement on a regulation establishing a programme (the Marco Polo programme) to succeed the PACT programme for the promotion of combined transport. The Marco Polo programme would offer Community financial support for modal shift projects, with a budget of E85 million and various thresholds for different types of eligible project. The UK joined other member states in arguing that there should be a reduced budget.
The Commission reported on the need for further action in Europe in the field of maritime security. This would be principally within the framework of the IMO.
The Council was unable to agree conclusions on the Commission's transport White Paper of September 2001 which proposes a range of measures to address significant issues such as congestion, safety and the environmental impact of transport. During the debate Mr Spellar was one of a number of Ministers to reject any reference in the conclusions to tax harmonisation. He also referred to the need to update the existing Eurovignette Directive to allow member states to proceed with implementing distance-based charging schemes. Following the debate, the Presidency issued conclusions.
The Council did not agree a common position on amendment of the Trans-European Network Guidelines. Discussion centred principally on the new list of priority projects. More work will be done on this in preparation for consideration by Ministers during the Danish Presidency.
The Commission presented a proposal for Community accession to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the IMO. It will be seeking a mandate from the Council to negotiate with these organisations.
The Council reached agreement on a decision agreeing Community accession to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), the pan-European body co-ordinating air traffic management. The agreement is subject to parliamentary scrutiny reservations being lifted.
There were Presidency Conclusions noting the large degree of support among member states for the Single European Sky and the agreement of member states to
make progress by 2004 in line with the conclusions of the Barcelona European Council. The conclusions also noted the importance of Eurocontrol in the process.The Council unanimously adopted a common position on a directive on occurrence reporting in civil aviation, establishing a common framework for dealing with safety-related incidents. There was agreement on a draft regulation requiring member states to provide aviation statistical returns.
The Commission presented a proposal on subsidy and unfair pricing by third country airlines, noting that some third countries had offered substantial financial support to their airlines, which had an impact on Community carriers.
The Presidency reported on discussions over lunch about aviation war-risk insurance. The Council believed that state intervention should be limited to
avoid market restriction, but that possible mutualisation schemes should be examined.The Council reached agreement on a directive tightening existing Community legislation on seat-belt wearing. A compromise was reached on an exemption for school buses which will last for five years. We have some concern at the lack of respect for subsidiarity in this proposal and this was made clear to the Council. In our view, it is appropriate to have a broad framework at EU level, leaving details of implementation to member states.
The Council did not reach agreement on a regulation on ecopoints for the transit of HGVs through Austria. This would have allowed extension of the ecopoint system beyond the current expiry date of 31 December 2003, but not beyond 2006, pending the forthcoming adoption of legislation on EU-wide infrastructure charging. The Commission concluded that in 2004 the Ecopoint system would finish. The Presidency hoped that imminent high level discussions among key member states would lead to a solution of the problem of Alpine transit.
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