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Question

Asked by Lord Rogan

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Returning officers are responsible for sending out postal ballot packs to service personnel after the close of nominations when the identities of candidates are known and the ballot papers can be printed. In practice, this works out to be 11 working days before polling day for European, local and general elections. I understand that in accordance with the Electoral Commission's guidance on the issuing of postal votes, returning officers prioritise the issuing of postal ballot packs to service personnel and overseas voters.

We are aware that there can be potential difficulties in relation to returning officers being able to send postal ballot packs to service personnel and receive them back within this timescale and keep the position under review. In particular there could be difficulties

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getting post to those who maybe away from base or those who move location at short notice.

The Ministry of Defence is also working closely with the Electoral Commission to ensure that service personnel have all the information they need so that, if they want to vote, they can. This includes advising service personnel that they can vote by proxy if they have any concerns about the practicability of voting by post.

Embryology

Questions

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Minister of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Lord Drayson): The Government do not provide funding directly to the UK Stem Cell Foundation (UKSCF). However, the Medical Research Council (MRC), which is one of the main agencies though which the Government support medical and clinical research, has committed £2.3 million to five joint projects run by the UKSCF in the past two years. Other funding for these projects is provided by Scottish Enterprise, the London Development Agency and the Wales Office of Research and Development for Health and Social Care.

The MRC has recently formed the Translational Stem Cell Research Committee which offers continued opportunity for co-funding with the UKSCF, as well as other research charities.

The MRC has not made an assessment of the comments in the Tablet.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (the 2008 Act), most of which is to be commenced on 1 October 2009, sets out in primary legislation a complete prohibition on the implantation in a woman of any embryo created by reproductive cloning. This

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reflects the fact that Parliament has made clear that it does not want to see reproductive cloning take place.

The 2008 Act contains a regulation-making power which would permit the use of cell nuclear transfer for the specific therapeutic purpose of preventing the transmission of serious mitochondrial diseases. This power is about helping couples conceive a child without the faulty mitochondria that affect the maternal line.

In order for any such regulations to come into force they would have to be consulted upon, and debated and approved by Parliament.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Lord Darzi of Denham: I have been informed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority that it has nothing further to add to the response given to the noble Lord on 6 May 2009 (WA117).

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Lord Darzi of Denham: I have been advised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority that the inspection report of Roslin Cells Limited was not included among the centres referred to in my Answer of 5 May 2009 (WA 96), because the latest inspection report does not contain details of the embryo culture method used.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool



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Lord Darzi of Denham: I have been advised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that inspection reports are for licence committees to determine a centre's compliance with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, licence conditions and the HFEA code of practice. The reports focus on areas of compliance and non-compliance and therefore are not intended to be detailed scientific documents with a description of every protocol used. Description of a method used for embryo culture and stem cell derivation within an inspection report is not an indication of whether a stem cell line has been derived using that method.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Lord Darzi of Denham: Information on the number of embryonic stem cell lines from outgrown embryos is not held centrally.

I am informed that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) does not hold data on the number of stem cell lines from HFEA licensed research projects deposited in the United Kingdom Stem Cell Bank. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 provides that no licence may permit the culture of a “live human embryo” beyond 14 days or the appearance of the primitive streak (whichever comes first), and no licence does.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Lord Darzi of Denham: I have been advised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that when applying to the HFEA for a research licence applicants are required to provide, along with the objectives of the research and other information, justification for the creation and/or use of embryos. Two peer reviews are sought for initial licence applications and the HFEA Executive carries out an onsite inspection. A research licence committee, which consists of members of the authority, will consider this information when

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deciding whether the proposed research is necessary or desirable for one of the prescribed purposes, and therefore whether or not to grant an initial licence.

Following the grant of a research licence, further inspections are undertaken periodically and those inspection reports are considered by a research licence committee. Licensed research centres are required to submit progress reports to the HFEA annually (or six monthly for stem cell research) outlining the research undertaken to date and how this relates to the objectives. When applying to the HFEA for the renewal of a research licence, centres are required to outline how the work undertaken related to the objectives of the original application and how the work they propose to carry out relates to the work since the research licence was granted or since the centre's previously submitted progress report.

The research licence committee refers to the renewal application, latest inspection report, latest progress report and one peer review when deciding whether the research remains necessary or desirable for one of the prescribed purposes, and therefore whether to renew a licence.

There are no exceptions to this method of assessment.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Lord Darzi of Denham: The number of licensed centres with which the National Health Service contracts for the provision of fertility services is a matter for primary care trusts (PCTs) locally. We collect information on PCTs’ policies on the provision of fertility services. The most recent survey is currently being analysed.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Lord Darzi of Denham: The expert group on commissioning National Health Service infertility provision identifies that expert commissioning skills needed to be developed and maintained if fertility services are to be commissioned in an equitable way to meet patients’ needs. The criteria for membership of the expert group include expertise in commissioning and knowledge of the needs of patients with fertility problems.



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Geert Wilders

Question

Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Mr Wilders was refused admission to the UK under European Union law, whereby a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) may refuse entry to a national of another EEA state if this is justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public health and where the personal conduct of the individual represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.

The immigration officer took into account the Home Secretary's views and concluded that there was a significant risk that Mr Wilders’ presence in the UK would threaten community harmony and therefore public security by fostering hate which might lead to inter-community violence within the UK.

Health: Channel Islands

Questions

Asked by Earl Howe

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): Following the end of the bilateral healthcare agreement, the department recommends that all United Kingdom residents intending to visit the Channel Islands take out private travel insurance. Preceding the end of the agreement, the department ran a wide communications campaign in national, local, and online press to deliver this message.

Asked by Earl Howe

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department does not have data on the total number of United Kingdom residents that were treated in the Channels Islands under the bilateral healthcare agreement. One of the reasons the UK gave notice on the agreement was due to a lack of robust data underpinning the business

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case. Due to a perceived imbalance in the number of visitors being treated by both parties, under the agreement the UK provided the Channel Islands with an allocation to fund clinical referrals to the UK. This allocation totalled around £11 million over the past three years.

Health: Clinical Diagnoses

Question

Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The Princess Alexandra Hospitals National Health Service Trust has advised that it wrote to the family on 25 March 2009 to apologise.

Health: Contaminated Blood Products

Questions

Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The estimated annual cost of honouring the Government's commitment to increase financial assistance available to those infected with HIV and their dependants is in the order of some millions of pounds. Our intention is that the annual payment to each infected individual should be double the average annual payment at present. The details of payments to infected individuals and to their dependants remain to be clarified through detailed discussion with the trustees of the Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts. Those discussions have commenced.

The estimated cost of the other proposals set out in the Government's response to Lord Archer's independent inquiry report on National Health Service supplied contaminated blood and blood products is £100,000 per annum until March 2014 to support the Haemophilia Society; £10,000 per annum to support twice-yearly meetings with the Haemophilia Alliance; and £50,000 to fund a look-back exercise to identify other patients with bleeding disorders who may have been infected via their treatment.

It is not possible at present to estimate the additional costs which may arise from Government's commitment to review, in 2014, the Skipton Fund, which makes payments to those infected with hepatitis C.

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