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- House adjourned at three minutes before seven o'clock.
Written Statements
Thursday, 11 March 2004
Television Licence Fees
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey): My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
On 11 November last year (Official Report, col. 11WS), the Government announced that, from 1 April 2004, the fee for a colour television licence would rise to £121 and the black and white licence fee to £40.50. I will today lay before the House the regulations necessary to bring these new fees into force.
Incorporate the 50 per cent licence fee concession for blind persons originally introduced by the Secretary of State's determination under Section 2(2) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, dated 31 March 2000.
Incorporate provision for free television licences for persons aged 75 and over originally introduced by the Secretary of State's direction to the BBC under Section 1(2) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, dated 30 October 2000.
Define "television receiver" for the purposes of the requirement to have a TV licence under Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003.
Define "television dealer" and "television set" for the purposes of Part 1 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1967 (which imposes on television dealers an obligation to notify the BBC, as the authority responsible for TV licensing, of the sale or hire of a television set).
Amend the definition of "accommodation for residential care" for England, Wales and Scotland to reflect changes in the care homes legislation; clarify the definition of certain expressions relating to this concession and provide that a group of dwellings may be within the definition of "a group of specially provided dwellings" even if one of the dwellings is occupied by a caretaker.
Clarify the operation of the easy payment schemes.
Amend the definition of "hotel", for the purposes of television licence fees for hotels, to impose a maximum stay for guests of 28 days in any consecutive period.
Paroxetine
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Health (Mr Hutton) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement today.
Following continuing interest in both Houses about the issues surrounding the safety of Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), including Seroxat (paroxetine), this Statement informs the House of further conclusions of the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) based on the work of the Expert Working Group on SSRIs.
In reviewing clinical trial data on the dosage of paroxetine and prescribing data suggesting that as many as 17,000 patients were started on doses above 20mg in the past year, the committee concluded that a reminder to prescribers was necessary in the following terms; that:
(i) the starting dose of paroxetine in the treatment of depression should be 20mg, as per the current summary of products characteristics (SPC)
(ii) there was no evidence from clinical trials of increased efficacy in the treatment of depressive illness above 20mg
(iii) the adverse events that occur soon after starting therapy may be difficult to distinguish from the underlying condition. There is evidence that increasing the dose in this situation may be detrimental
(iv) rapid upward titration may increase the risk of serious adverse events
(v) those currently on a higher dose and responding well to treatment should remain on the same dose and be reviewed at their next regular treatment review.
(vi) patients should not stop treatment suddenly. Any cessation of treatment should proceed by a gradual downward titration.
Detailed communications to patients and prescribers are taking place today. These will include a summary of clinical trial data on which the conclusions of the CSM and its expert group are based. This has been placed in the Library, and is available on the MHRA website.
The expert working group will continue its work to conclude its full review of the safety and efficacy of SSRIs and will examine what implications, if any, these latest findings have for the use of other SSRIs.
Oil and Gas: Offshore Licence
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): My honourable friend the Minister for Energy, E-commerce and Postal Services (Stephen Timms) has made the following Written Statement.
I am pleased to inform the House that I am today offering RWE Dea UK SNS Limited an oil and gas production licence on Seaward Block 43/20c in the southern North Sea.
The successful applicant will have a fixed period in which to decide whether or not to accept the offer.
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