§ 2.52 p.m.
§ Baroness Lane-FoxMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the increase in the numbers of people (a) contracting and (b) dying from AIDS in 1987 compared with 1986.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Baroness Trumpington)My Lords, by the end of January 1987 a cumulative total of 686 cases of persons suffering from the disease had been reported to the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, of whom 355 were known to have died. These figures include 337 new cases reported in 1986 and 153 deaths. In January 1987, 78 new cases of AIDS and 62 deaths were reported.
§ Baroness Lane-FoxMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply and congratulate the Government on their way of so explicitly telling the public of the horrors of the disease. I ask her whether her department was expecting the sharp rise in the number of cases during January.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonMy Lords, let me say how appreciative I am of my noble friend's first remarks. The number of cases is doubling every 10 months. We therefore expect each month's figures to be higher than those of the previous month. Other factors related to the method of reporting may have affected the January figures.
§ Lord EnnalsMy Lords, the noble Baroness has given some new and disturbing figures. Can she now explain the serious discrepancy that has occurred in 627 the number of deaths from AIDS reported in 1986? Can she reconcile two official statements made by her department? One was that there were 285 deaths in England and Wales in 1986, and the second was that over the same period there were 220 deaths in England and Wales, where AIDS or a similar term has been mentioned. Is not this matter so important that your Lordships' House and the country should have the facts clearly before them?
§ Baroness TrumpingtonMy Lords, the noble Lord may not be aware of a question answered by my honourable friend the Minister for Health on 3rd March in another place which gave the facts as he reported them then. I would merely say that the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is currently investigating discrepancies between numbers of deaths from AIDS reported to the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre and those shown on death certificates.
§ Lord EnnalsMy Lords, so the noble Baroness accepts that there are serious discrepancies. Has she any idea how long it will take before the country will be allowed to know just how many deaths from AIDS there were in 1986?
§ Baroness TrumpingtonMy Lords, I refer the noble Lord to my honourable friend's reply, which is as far as he can go for the present.
§ Lord KilmarnockMy Lords, surely the important fact is that the number is approximately doubling every 10 months. My figure for 1986 is 293. That leads us inevitably to the conclusion that if this progression continues we shall have about 20,000 cases in 1991. Although three-quarters of the cases so far have been in the London regions, can the noble Baroness say whether the Government are aware of the rise in other regions, particularly Oxford and the West Midlands, and whether they will be helping those regions to the same extent as they are helping the London regions which are suffering most of the burden at the moment?
§ Baroness TrumpingtonMy Lords, three-quarters of all reported cases have occurred in three of the Thames health regions; 96 per cent. of reported cases have occurred in England; 9 in Wales; 16 in Scotland and 2 in Northern Ireland. Local health authorities will use whatever money they feel they should for preventive and caring measures.
§ Lord KilmarnockMy Lords, my question was whether the regions which I mentioned will be getting any new money in view of the rising incidence of AIDS in their areas?
§ Baroness TrumpingtonMy Lords, we have made various moneys available through various bodies. For instance, the MRC, which asked for 14 million, was given it. Worldwide research has been carried out. Where health authorities ask for money, their needs will be considered.