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BSE
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the amount of money his Department has spent in Staffordshire on measures relating to the BSE problem; and if he will make a statement. [59545]
Mr. Morley: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Millennium Compliance
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the publications in which his Department has taken advertisements to publicise the millennium bug and indicate the cost of these advertisements; [59562]
- (2) if he will list the publications in which his Department has placed advertisements to publicise the millennium bug, indicating the cost of the advertisements. [59910]
Mr. Morley: The Government are taking action centrally, primarily through Action 2000, to ensure that businesses are aware of the potential threat of the Millennium bug. My Department is in close contact with the farming and food industries to reinforce the message. We have not so far considered it appropriate to take out any direct advertisements.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what estimate he has made of the susceptibility to the millennium bug of farm machinery and equipment in the United Kingdom; and what measures he proposes to take to deal with the problem; [59563]
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Mr. Morley:
Farmers, like other businessmen, use a wide range of machinery and equipment, some of which may be susceptible to the Millennium bug. My Department is working closely with the NFU and others to ensure that farmers are aware of the potential for disruption to their businesses and of the action they can take to avoid this. Questions of equipment safety are, of course, a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
Mr. Fabricant:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the cost of all research undertaken by his Department since May 1997, excluding the cost of green papers and other public consultation documents drafted by his officials; and if he will list in each case the organisations which undertook that research. [52700]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 29 July 1998]: The term research covers a wide range of activities from scientific and engineering research through to consultancies and public opinion surveys. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
(2) what steps he has taken to ensure that the operation of farm machinery in the UK is not affected by the millennium bug. [59909]
New-variant CJD
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent his Department has recorded which of the known new-variant CJD victims were previously blood donors; if he will publish the information his Department has collated on this matter; and if he will take steps to trace and destroy blood retained by the Blood Transfusion Service from these individuals. [59982]
Ms Jowell: Cases of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease are reported to the CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh which informs the United Kingdom blood services. Four such cases have been notified and steps have been taken to trace and withdraw components or products from the donation, as a precautionary measure whenever this has been possible.
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what screening tests are currently available for new-variant CJD; [59985]
- (2) what efforts his Department is making to develop a test for new-variant CJD. [59984]
Ms Jowell: There are no screening tests for new variant CJD (nvCJD) currently available. The diagnosis can be confirmed only by direct examination of brain tissue.
The development of efficient diagnostic techniques for CJD was identified in the Government's strategy for research relating to the human health aspects of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) published in November 1996. Efficient diagnostic
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techniques are vital to the assessment of disease mechanisms, to diagnosing the presence of the disease in a patient and to epidemiological surveillance.
The Department is currently funding the Public Health Laboratory Service for two specific projects in this regard. One project is aimed at the development of panels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for the evaluation of tests for CJD, and the other is aimed at the development of a sensitive and specific test for the detection of abnormal Prion Protein in blood and urine samples.
A complete list of Government funded research on diagnostic tests for TSEs is available on the Medical Research Council's Website at http://www.mrc.ac.uk/tse-tb2.htm.
Mr. Duncan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the risk of transmitting new-variant CJD by blood transfusion. [59980]
Ms Jowell:
The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee considered all available risk assessments in June 1998. Following this the Committee recommended that the Government should extend the use of leucodepletion for all blood destined for transfusion as soon as practically possible to reduce the theoretical risk of transmission of new-variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Mr. Duncan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the risk of infection by new-variant CJD posed to close blood line relatives of the known new-variant CJD victims. [59979]
Ms Jowell:
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that patients with new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease pose any risk of transmitting the infection to close blood line relatives.
Mr. Duncan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has evaluated on the leucodepletion of blood within the Blood Transfusion Service. [59991]
Ms Jowell:
The Department has considered all the published research on leucodepletion. The National Blood Authority and the Department are currently carrying out further research on the effects of leucodepletion, which will be evaluated when completed. The need for further research will be assessed.
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Mr. Duncan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the conclusions of the National Blood Authority to be published with regard to the leucodepletion of blood within the blood transfusion service. [59981]
Ms Jowell:
In July 1998, on advice of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, the National Blood Authority was instructed to implement the leucodepletion of all blood. This process will be completed by next autumn.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance his Department makes available to carers for the purchase of specialist equipment. [58391]
Mr. Hutton:
Carers do not directly receive money to purchase specialist equipment. The Government's objective in providing equipment to disabled and older people is to help them live as fully and independently as possible, ensuring that service providers make practical support for carers a high priority. In 1996/97, the latest year for which figures are available, the National Health Service and social services spent a combined figure of approximately £250 million on the provision of disability equipment, excluding home adaptions. Expenditure on Disabled Facilities Grants by housing authorities was £95 million.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received relating to setting up a statutory body to inspect qualifications and training procedures for paramedics; and if he will make a statement. [59899]
Mr. Milburn:
The Ambulance Service Association is responsible for the provision and management, including certification and assessment arrangements, of the current system of national awards for ambulance and paramedical personnel. The Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine considers petitions for state registration. We understand that a petition in respect of paramedics was submitted by the Ambulance Service Association to the Council on 12 October 1998 and will be submitted to the Government shortly.