Clause 16 (Hansard, 20 June 1968)

§ Mr. Scott-Hopkins
I beg to move Amendment No. 19, in page 11, line 42, after 'description', insert 'other than veterinary drugs'.
My purpose in inserting these words in Clause 16(4) is to try to close what I believe is an existing loophole for the importation of substandard drugs into this country from perhaps Eire and Northern Ireland.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I hesitate to interrupt. If hon. Members will speak up a little it will help the reporters.

§ Mr. Scott-Hopkins
I am very sorry. I will certainly follow your advice, Mr. Speaker.

§ Sir Gerald Nabarro (Worcestershire, South)
Hear, hear.

§ Mr. Scott-Hopkins
My hon. Friend the Member for Worcestershire, South (Sir G. Nabarro) is by far the best at speaking up on this side of the House.
The purpose of the Amendment is to close an existing loophole in the transitional exemptions concerning the importation of drugs. I am anxious that no substandard drugs, particularly penicillins, antibiotics and the like, are brought into this country illegally, and which the Parliamentary Secretary and his Ministry are unable to stop at the moment. I believe that this is happening on a large scale. I want to make 1431 certain that this practice ceases. Therefore, the Minister should have the power and the ability to stop it. I have moved to insert the words "other than veterinary drugs", because I believe that they will have this effect.

§ Mr. John Mackie
This Amendment would have the effect of making all imports of veterinary drugs without a product licence illegal when, on the first appointed day, the licensing arrangements under Clauses 7 and 8 become effective.
I appreciate the fears of the hon. Member for Derbyshire, West (Mr. Scott-Hopkins), but it is unlikely that the licensing authority would be able to deal with all the licences which would be needed and, irrespective of need or quality, some imports would therefore come to a stop.
I assume that hon. Gentlemen opposite want to be able to prevent the import at the very first opportunity of any undesirable products. But, as I think they recognise, we are not aware in every case what these products are or in any case whether, having regard to their intended use, they are necessarily undesirable. This can only be discovered by considering each imported product on its merits, which effectively means the sort of considerations entailed in deciding whether to grant a product licence.
This cannot be done overnight, as the hon. Gentleman must appreciate. Moreover, we have to avoid creating a chaotic situation in relation to the import of veterinary drugs. This is why we have transitional provisions. I think, therefore, that, although the object is a worthy one—and we know that there are often importations of these drugs about which we do not know enough—it really is not one that can be achieved in one bite.
We must accept some transitional arrangements, and we believe that the ones devised are satisfactory for this purpose. Briefly, an imported product will be protected in the first instance by subsection (4), so that it will be new imports that become subject to the licensing procedure on the first appointed day. Later, in accordance with Clause 17, other appointed days will be fixed for specified classes of products, and for these the protection given by Clause 16 then ends.
1432 Clause 25(2) then entitles a person protected by Clause 16 to a licence of right. But such licences may be revoked, either as they come up for renewal or, as the need arises, at any time in accordance with Clause 28 and the following Clauses. Priority will be given to those products and licences which appear to deserve early attention, but it is impossible to accept that all these matters can be dealt with immediately the licensing arrangements come into operation. Because of that I ask the House to reject the Amendment.

§ Mr. Scott-Hopkins
With the leave of the House, may I say that I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for accepting that the present situation is undesirable. The main purpose of tabling the Amendment is to draw to the hon. Gentleman's attention once again the fact that we are extremely concerned about these substandard and illegal drugs coming in, and we want their importation stopped at the earliest possible moment.
I think that the hon. Gentleman exaggerated the impracticability of stopping the importation of these drugs immediately. I accept that it is difficult to insist that from the first appointed day a product licence will be necessary for every veterinary drug that is imported, but I hope that he will take note of what has been said about the need to stop these veterinary drugs coming in because they can do untold damage.
So far, I have addressed myself solely to the veterinary aspect of this problem, but I am sure that hon. Members appreciate the danger of allowing the import of drugs of this kind which are used for treating human beings.
I mentioned Eire and Northern Ireland as two sources for the supply of these sub-standard drugs, but they do, of course, come from other places, too. I should not like it to go on record that those are the only two places from which these drugs are originating.
If the hon. Gentleman will watch the position carefully and use his best endeavours to ensure that this traffic is stopped at the earliest opportunity and that the product licence procedure is brought in as quickly as is humanly possible, I shall be satisfied, and shall not press the Amendment.

§ Mr. Mackie
I said that priority would be given to dealing with these 1433 products which appear to deserve early attention. The hon. Gentleman must realise that if we were to accept the Amendment it would stop the importation of everything, good and bad. That is the difficulty. I appreciate what he has said, and we will keep a careful watch on the situation.

§ Mr. Speaker
Do I understand that the hon. Member for Derbyshire, West (Mr. Scott-Hopkins) is seeking leave to withdraw the Amendment?

§ Mr. Scott-Hopkins
Yes, Mr. Speaker.