§ Mr. Neil Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what recent representations he has received about the value of vitamin supplementation for prospective and pregnant mothers who are at risk of having handicapped children who suffer from spina bifida or other neural tube defects.
§ Mr. Whitney[pursuant to his reply, 21 July 1986, c. 98]: We have sought the advice of the Advisory Committee on National Health Service Drugs on representations made to us on the availability of a proprietary multivitamin drug under the selected list scheme. These representations also raise the general issue of the value of vitamin supplementation in the prevention of neural rube defects. No drug has a product licence for this use, but a major study of vitamin supplementation is in progress. In the meantime, we are assured by the advisory committee that all the vitamins which might play a role in prevention of neural tube defects are available under the selected list scheme.