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Harrier Jets: Norwegian Inquiry
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many Harrier jets were operational or on exercise in the Norwegian province of Finnmark on 11 March 1982; and[HL405]
Whether a Harrier jet landed at either Tromso or the Bardufoss military airbase on 11 March 1982; and [HL406]
Whether a pilot received medical treatment in Norway following a flying incident on 11 March 1982; and [HL407]
Whether they will be giving evidence to the inquiry by the Norwegian Government into the loss of a Wideroe Airlines aircraft on 11 March 1982; and[HL408]
Whether any military aircraft were damaged during the NATO exercise Alloy Express during March 1982.[HL409]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): We will offer every assistance to the Norwegian commission of inquiry if requested to do so.
As it will take some time for officials to search the appropriate records I will write to the noble Lord and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House. ReboJanice
NHS Trusts: Clinical Governance
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether primary care trusts and other National Health Service commissioning bodies are responsible for ensuring that the standards of clinical governance required by the trusts are
- adhered to by contractors, including general practitioners, who provide clinical services on behalf of the trust.[HL250]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): All National Health trusts, including primary care trusts and healthcare trusts, have responsibility for ensuring the delivery of safe, high quality care and that clinical governance principles, processes and systems are embedded through the trust board and within the organisation. They should ensure compliance with the statutory duty of quality and principles of clinical governance and patient safety for services commissioned from, hosted by, or jointly provided with other providers.
Primary care trust commissioning decisions should be judged against the twin tests of high clinical standards and good value for money. PCTs will account locally, through the annual patient prospectus, and nationally through the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), for their commissioning decisions. PCTs monitor standards achieved by general practitioners through a variety of methods, including the monitoring of pay, prescribing information, through complaints and discipline mechanisms. GPs also participate in clinical audit, appraisal and CHI inspection and are subject to professional discipline through registration with the General Medical Council.
The role of strategic health authorities includes performances management, building capacity and supporting performance improvement. This involves holding PCTs and NHS trusts to account through their performance agreements, as well as supporting PCTs and NHS trusts to improve the consistency and quality of healthcare through their clinical governance programmes. Janice
NHS: Independent Configuration Panel
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the status of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel being set up to consider major service changes in the National Health Service; and [HL289]
Who are the members of the independent reconfiguration panel; and [HL290]
Whether the proceedings of the independent reconfiguration panel will be published; and [HL291]
How the advice of the independent reconfiguration panel will be made known, including whether the Secretary of State for Health accepts the panel's advice; and [HL292]
Whether the independent reconfiguration panel will consider all major service changes and, if not, what criteria will determine whether the panel considers such changes.[HL293]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath; Following discussions with the Cabinet Office, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel has recently been granted advisory non-departmental public body status. This
reflects the panel's need to be sufficiently independent in providing authoritative advice to the Secretary of State for Health. The panel chairman, Dr Barrett, was appointed by the Secretary of State from a shortlist of candidates. We expect to make an announcement on the other members shortly.The panel will offer expert independent advice to the Secretary of State for Health on any contested proposals for reconfiguration in England that he asks the panel to consider. In deciding to seek advice from the panel, the Secretary of State for Health will wish to be satisfied that all other options for resolutions have first been fully explored. Only those contested proposals, where it is clear that all other options have been exhausted, are likely to be referred to the panel.
The panel's advice to the Secretary of State for Health, and the basis on which that advice was formulated, will be published. The Secretary of State for Health will not be bound to accept the panel's advice and, as at present, the final decision will rest with him. Janice
Thiomersal
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many of the standard vaccinations that children receive in the United Kingdom contain thiomersal; for how many years these standard vaccinations have contained thiomersal; and what research has been carried out into the cumulative effects of the mercury content of thiomersal on infant children.[HL429]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Vaccines containing thiomersal (a mercury-containing compound known as thimerosal in the United States) have been in use for over 60 years. The only vaccines used in the routine United Kingdom childhood immunisation programme which contain thiomersal as an excipient in the final product are diphtheria, tetanus and whole cell pertussis (DTwP) and diphtheria and tetanus vaccines.
In 2001, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) reviewed the available data relating to possible neurotoxicity of thiomersal in vaccines and advised that there is no evidence of harm caused by doses of thiomersal in vaccines. The CSM concluded that the risk: benefit balance of thiomersal-containing vaccines remains overwhelmingly positive. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the United States also published a detailed review of the evidence relating to possible neurotoxicity of thiomersal in vaccines in October 2001. The IOM findings were consistent with the CSM conclusions.
We are aware of two new studies in the UK looking at the relationship between mercury in vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. One of these studies is funded by the Department of Health and uses the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood. The other study is using the General Practice Research Database and is funded jointly by the World Health Organisation and the Public Health
Laboratory Service (which receives its funding from the department). Neither of these studies supports an association between thiomersal exposure through the UK programme and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. The results of these studies have been made available to the department and a summary of the findings is available in a report to the US Congress which has been placed in the Library.In addition to the above studies, evidence from a recent study by M Pichichero et al (published in the November 30 2002 Lancet) showed that giving vaccines containing thiomersal does not raise blood levels of mercury. The findings of this paper suggested that ethylmercury is rapidly eliminated from the blood after administration intra-muscularly. The levels of ethylmercury in the blood were no higher than in samples taken at birth—before any vaccines had been received.
Abortions: Girls Aged 12 and Under
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many abortions have been performed on girls aged 12 and under in each of the past five years; and at what stage in gestation each abortion has been performed[HL502]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The information requested is set out in the following table.
| Gestation | |||||
| Total | under 9 weeks | 9-12 weeks | 13-19 weeks | 20 weeks and over | |
| 1997 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| 1998 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 1999 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 2000 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| 2001 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3 |
Source:
Statistical Division 3G, Department of Health.
Janice
Baroness Rawlings asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The East Kent pilot scheme for screening of asylum seekers for tuberculosis will be independently reviewed in January 2003. The review will help inform decisions about the future of the scheme both in Kent and throughout the rest of the country.
Baroness Rawlings asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Between 18 June and 29 November 2002, 4,516 asylum seekers were screened for tuberculosis in East Kent. Subsequently, 57 were referred to a chest clinic either with potential symptoms or high grade Heaf test results, and so far none has been diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Further to the Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 28 November (HL Deb, cols. 903-06), what progress has been made to extend the East Kent pilot scheme for screening of asylum seekers for tuberculosis to all areas of the country.[HL507]
Further to the Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 28 November (HL Deb, cols. 903-06), what proportion of asylum seekers entering the United Kingdom via East Kent ports are infected with tuberculosis.[HL508]
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