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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Lord Turnberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their position on cognitive behaviour therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome as recommended and practiced by Professor Simon Wessley and his colleagues. [HL4264]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: It is not for the Department of Health to comment on the practice of individual doctors. There is no one form of treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. Treatment to relieve the wide variety of symptoms that patients can experience is a matter for individual doctors to decide in consultation with the patient. Cognitive behaviour therapy is known to be helpful to some patients with physical and psychiatric illness to improve quality of life and day-to-day functioning.
Professor Wessley was invited, and accepted, to be a member of the reference group to the CFS/ME Independent Working Group which reported to the Chief Medical Officer in January 2002, and is a respected clinician.
Animal Feed: Nitrofen Contamination
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many cases of nitrofen have been identified in animal feed in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; and[4658]
What measures the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is taking to prevent the importation of nitrofen-contaminated animal feed. [HL4659]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: We are advised by the Food Standards Agency that there have been no cases of nitrofen contamination identified in animal feed in the United Kingdom in the past five years.
The Food Standards Agency is closely monitoring the case of nitrofen contamination of animal feed in Germany, which is thought to be an isolated incident. At a recent emergency meeting in Brussels of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, Germany reported that no contaminated feed
was sent to the UK. The European Commission is keeping the situation under constant review and keeping member states fully informed under the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed.The Food Standards Agency has alerted the UK feed industry to check any feed obtained from Germany for nitrofen. The Food Standards Agency will continue to monitor the position.
NHS: Clinical Negligence Cases
Baroness Greengross asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, as part of the reform of medical negligence procedures, responsibility to settle small claims up to £15,000 will be given to the National Health Service Litigation Authority; and[HL4918]
Whether they have decided not to allow small medical negligence claims to be handled by an independent dispute resolution service.[HL4919]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Chief Medical Officer is presently investigating a range of options for reforming the way clinical negligence cases are handled. Neither the Chief Medical Officer nor Minsters have yet come to any final conclusions.
Baroness Greengross asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether an independent evaluation has been or will be completed of the National Health Service Litigation Authority's work on medical negligence.[HL4921]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The National Audit Office reported on the National Health Service Litigation Authority's handling of claims in May 2001. A Public Accounts Committee hearing followed in October 2001 and the PAC published its report on this earlier this month.
National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit: 10th Annual Report
Baroness Pitkeathley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will publish the 10th annual report of the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit.[HL5154]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit's 10th annual report has been published today. The report documents the unit's findings in relation to sporadic, familial and iatrogenic Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD), and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), up to 31 December 2001. Copies have been placed in the Library, and are available on the Unit's website at www.cjd.ed.ac.uk.
Vaccines: Animal Materials
Baroness Pitkeathley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they would make an announcement about the use of animal material in the manufacture of vaccine.[HL5155]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There have been guidelines for the pharmaceutical industry to follow on the use of certain animal materials in the production of vaccines and other medicines since 1989. The latest version of the guidelines was drawn up by the European scientific committee, the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP), and adopted in May 2001. The latest version of the guidelines became legally binding from 1 July 2000 for new applications for a licence for a medicinal product and from 1 March 2001 for products that were already licensed.
The scope of guidance at any one time, and its implications for pharmaceutical companies, have often been unclear. Following a thorough review of the information supplied to Parliament on bovine spongiform encephalopathy-related issues in vaccines, the Government have established that, regrettably, incorrect and misleading information was given to Ministers by the Medicines Control Agency and thus has been given in response to a number of Parliamentary Questions. My honourable friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Ms Blears), made a Statement in the other place on Friday 5 July setting out the reasons for these errors and the current state of compliance with the guidelines. An account of the questions incorrectly answered and the correct information has now been placed in the Library, and letters sent to Members of both Houses who asked those questions.
We have also placed in the Library:
- a copy of the Government's Chief Medical Officer's report on the withdrawal of the Medeva-Evans oral polio vaccine in October 2000;
- a copy of the Committee on Safety of Medicine's (CSM) consolidated review of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents and the safety of United Kingdom authorised human medicines;
- a report by the MCA that explains in detail the development of the guidance for the pharmaceutical industry to follow on the use of certain animal-derived materials in the manufacture of medicines, and the approach taken by the agency to its implementation.
Capital Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs news release 244/02 of 25 June, what progress has been made in putting into place arrangements to distribute the Capital Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund, specifically for the London region; when work on making the arrangements began; and what completion target has been set for the distribution of the £21.3 million.[HL4993]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): Officials have been involved in negotiating the formal contract between DEFRA and London Waste Action which is leading on behalf of a partnership of the Mayor of London, the Association of London Government and London Waste Action. This process is nearing completion. The partnership has drawn up a comprehensive scheme to cover the arrangements for the evaluation and approval of applications to the Capital Fund.
Work on the detailed negotiations between DEFRA and the partnership began in March 2002.
The partnership has approved a delivery strategy and business plan that sets out the priorities for the fund and its spending plans. Under the terms of the draft contract this will require approval by DEFRA. The fund intends to have allocated the total £21.3 million by April 2003.
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