Scope

1.1.In July 2006 we appointed a Sub-Committee to explore the impact of allergy in the United Kingdom upon patients, society and the economy as a whole. The scope of our inquiry covered a broad range of policy issues, and the initial Call for Evidence is reprinted in Appendix 3. Our report encompasses an assessment of recent trends of allergy prevalence, the social and economic burdens that allergic disorders cause, current allergy treatments and research strategies, and policies which impact upon allergy patients such as housing standards, food labelling and the work and school environment.

1.2.Our report follows a series of reports on health service provision for allergy patients, including Allergy: the unmet need published by the Royal College of Physicians in 2003,[1] The Provision of Allergy Services produced by the House of Commons Health Committee in 2004,[2] and the Department of Health's A review of services for allergy published in 2006.[3] These reports concluded that there was a lack of baseline data regarding allergy in the United Kingdom, and that improvements were needed to the way in which allergy was treated within the National Health Service.

1.3.In light of the amount of information already available on the provision of health services for allergy, we have not made this the main thrust of our report. However, the wealth of evidence we received on allergy services, and the strong opinions of many of our witnesses, have made it clear that the state of allergy services in the United Kingdom also impacts upon the accuracy of data collection methods, influences research strategies, and is responsible for the way in which patients approach their disorders. We have therefore examined allergy services in Chapter 9.

1.4.This report comes at a time when the prevalence of allergic disorders in this country has been claimed to have reached epidemic proportions, and the topic of allergy is never far from the media spotlight. This is therefore a timely opportunity to examine the impact of allergy upon the United Kingdom. Although it is unlikely that a cure for all forms of allergy will be found in the near future, we have made a number of recommendations which we believe will contribute to the prevention, treatment and management of allergic disorders. We trust that the Government and other relevant stakeholders will respond positively and so help to reduce the significant burden of allergy within the United Kingdom.

Acknowledgements

1.5.The membership of the Sub-Committee is set out in Appendix 1. We received valuable written and oral evidence from the witnesses listed in Appendix 2. In November 2006 we held a seminar at the Royal Society of Medicine, to which a number of academics, clinicians and charity representatives contributed. In the course of our inquiry we have visited allergy services in Germany and Denmark, the Danish National Board of Health, the Evelina Children's Hospital in London, and an allergy clinic at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. We have also visited two companies who manufacture allergen products: ALK-Abelló in Copenhagen and Allergy Therapeutics in Worthing. We wish to thank very warmly all those who have assisted us in our work.

1.6.Finally, we are very grateful to our Specialist Adviser, Professor A. B. Kay of Imperial College London, for his expertise and guidance throughout our inquiry. We stress that the conclusions we draw and recommendations we make are ours alone.

2  Health Committee, 6th Report (2003-04): The Provision of Allergy Services (HC 696-I) Back

3  Department of Health, A review of services for allergy, 2006. (Hereafter referred to as DH A review of services for allergy). Back