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Lord Laming: My Lords, will the Minister acknowledge that some of the pronouncements made by NICE have caused tremendous anxiety to Alzheimer's disease sufferers and their carers? Will he use his considerable influence to encourage NICE to speed up some of its decision-making processes?
Lord Warner: My Lords, on the latter point, there is a fast-track system for considering single products. NICE has produced a consultation document on that and responses are awaited.
The noble Lord knows that the issue of Alzheimer's drugs is still under consideration by NICE in the light of comments made on its draft guidance. NICE went away and reconsidered this matter with many of the producers of these drugs to see what the impact would be on particular sub-groups of users.
Lord Jenkin of Roding: My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that there is a good deal of anxiety about the varying weights which NICE appears to give to the quality of life issues? Is it not unreal to draw such a clear distinction between life-saving drugs on the one hand and drugs that improve the quality of life on the other? As my noble friend Lord Howe mentioned, if a patient is having radiotherapy or chemotherapy there is no doubt that there are drugs which can make the patient very much more tolerant of such treatment and therefore markedly improve the patient's quality of life.
Lord Warner: My Lords, I accept many of the points that both the noble Lord and his colleague on the
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Front Bench have made. I have acknowledged that these are difficult judgments. There is no single silver bullet that can be applied in these judgments. We continue to work with NICE to consider how it can make its methodologies in these difficult judgments more effective and publicly palatable. NICE is very responsive in these areas.
Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, I am sorry to hear the Minister croaking. We have worn him out with questions this week—he has had one almost every day.
Can the Minister clarify the position on social services and social care? NICE has a remit to give value for money but I am never clear how well people's circumstances are taken into consideration—what it costs to keep a patient going without a drug as opposed to what it costs to keep them going with one.
Lord Warner: My Lords, NICE takes account of all the costs involved in carers and patients in relation to receiving or not receiving particular drugs. I am happy to write with more details to the noble Baroness, partly in order to save my voice.
Baroness Masham of Ilton: My Lords, can the Minister explain why Scotland does its appraisals much faster than England?
Lord Warner: My Lords, the Scots had the benefit of looking at the NICE experience before they set up their arrangements. As I said earlier, NICE is developing a fast-track system which aims to produce some guidance within eight weeks. Consultation is being undertaken publicly on those new proposals.
Lord Colwyn: My Lords, the Minister mentioned blood transfusions earlier. In view of the fact that blood transfusions can improve the quality of life particularly during cancer treatment, is he happy that the National Blood Service is working to maximum efficiency when it is reported that at any one time there are only seven days' supply of blood available for all uses?
Lord Warner: My Lords, I have absolute confidence in the National Blood Service.
Gas Supplies
11.23 am
Lord Ezra asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, the Government have been working to improve the operation of international gas markets, notably the European, so that gas supply responds to price signals. We have continued to work with gas supply projects to help remove or reduce non-commercial barriers. Three
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major new gas supply projects are due to commission next winter and a further two the following winter. Subject to effective action by the European Commission in remedying malfunctions in continental markets, the tight gas supply position should ease considerably from next year.
Lord Ezra: My Lords, I ask this question in the light of the report of the Trade and Industry Select Committee in another place which was published very recently and contains some disturbing conclusions. In spite of what the Minister has told us, is it not now becoming clear that gas shortages are likely to arise over the next two to three years? Does this not suggest that the preparations for the changeover from self-sufficiency to import-dependence were not adequately undertaken? Was this not influenced by the over-optimistic view of the availability of external gas supplies contained in the 2003 energy White Paper?
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, I do not think that that is the case. We certainly identified one area which is causing a very acute problem. That is why the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry wrote to the European Commission indicating that the malfunction of the European market—caused principally by German companies—was very serious. I am pleased to indicate that the German equivalent of Ofcom has indicated that changes are necessary as far as the German market is concerned. As to the overall position, as a result of our proposals for new installations we are in place to see gas supplies being guaranteed and meet the market in the very near future. We have a temporary problem this winter.
Lord Berkeley: My Lords, notwithstanding my noble friend's comments about guaranteed gas supplies, does he agree that surface coalmining in this country would make an important contribution to the UK's energy supply and reliability? Is he aware that a number of what most people would say are environmentally friendly and economically sound surface coalmines are being unduly denied by the over-restrictive way in which the mineral planning authorities are implementing the planning guidance? Will my noble friend ensure that the planning guidance is drawn to the attention of these authorities so that there is not undue delay in some open-cast sites being given permission?
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, I shall certainly take that point back to the department, but the contribution of such coal supplies would be relatively marginal to the overall position. We have addressed ourselves to the major issues in regard to energy supplies, as I have indicated.
Lord Crickhowell: My Lords, I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has now asked the regulator to ensure that if the principal operators of pipelines and LNG terminals do not fully use the facilities, access will be made available to third parties—an issue that
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I raised when the noble Lord, Lord Ezra, last asked a similar question. Now that we have had fairly sharp evidence of the damage that can be done by a major gas explosion, will the Government take seriously the issues that I raised in a recent energy debate and re-examine the safety and regulatory aspects of the new LNG terminals?
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, we certainly need to derive lessons from the great problems which have occurred over the past week in that oil storage facility. The noble Lord is right: I gave him an inadequate answer the last time he raised the question with regard to third parties using storage facilities in this country. It was a point well taken. I went back to the department and reassured myself that this issue was being addressed. It has been addressed and we are determined that third parties will take up options on the basis that if a facility is not being used by the original contractors, they will then yield to the new ones.
Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that there are other aspects to this problem, including one of storage? We have an oscillation in demand for energy and we have wholly inadequate facilities for the storage of oil and gas in this country. We do not yet have targets laid down by government as to what we should or should not store and we do not have anything like the range of fiscal incentives that we need to take some of the heat out of the market. At present there is little enthusiasm for the acquisition of such facilities and there is little pressure from the Government on them. It is foolhardy to think that in two years things will get better. The burgeoning demand of the Chinese and Indian economies is already distorting the market and has caused the Government to introduce their new energy review. We need far more than the gentle words that we are getting from the Government at this time on this issue.
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