§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 17 June 2002 (WA 57), how much funding has been received from agrochemical companies:
- (a) by National Health Service trusts;
- (b) by the National Poisons Information Service centres;
- (c) for National Health Service work in either the National Poisons Information Service, the National Teratology Information Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne or their associated clinical facilities;
- (d) for the training of registrars; and
- (e) for any other purpose since 2000. [HL1521]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)The Department of Health receives information from National Health Service trust accounts, which includes amounts relating to the income of the trust. However,100WA miscellaneous and other income is not analysed to provide an answer in relation to the NHS trusts.
The National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) centres in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Newcastle have not received funding from agrochemical companies. The NPIS London centre received funding from agrochemical companies of about £3,000 per annum for specific work on surveillance and advice on safety. In addition there was a single payment in 2001–02 of £15,000 to help to support registrar posts.
The National Teratology Information Service, Newcastle upon Tyne, has not received funding from agrochemical companies.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
From which pesticide classes has the Birmingham centre of the National Poisons Information Service produced TOXBASE entries; whether the entries include human poisoning data from clinical studies or experience or adverse effects data from animal studies; and whether they will place a copy of these entries in the Library of the House. [HL1577]
§ Lord WarnerThe Birmingham Centre of the National Poisons Information Service has produced TOXBASE entries covering all pesticide classes. These entries routinely include a summary of human poisoning data from clinical studies and take note of relevant animal studies. All of these entries are available to healthcare workers on the NPIS computerised database, TOXBASE.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the publication Current Awareness in Clinical Toxicology, produced by the Birmingham centre of the National Poisons Information Service, is available to the public under the Environmental Information Regulations or whether it will be under the draft Environmental Information Regulations. [HL1579]
§ Lord WarnerThe monthly publication,Current Awareness in Clinical Toxicology, is produced by the Birmingham centre of the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) and is available for downloading at www.npis.org. Current Awareness in Clinical Toxicology is a list of literature references relevant to a clinical toxicologist, and covers the areas of clinical, occupational and environmental toxicology. Although primarily produced for the United Kingdom NPIS, it is made available by the international clinical toxicology societies to their members worldwide.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which institutions (a) that are government-owned; or (b) in which National Health Service work is carried out; or (c) in which Department of Health work is funded; or (d) in which Department for Environment, Food and Regional Affairs work is funded, also operate as commercial contract research organisations; and 101WA which of these institutions carry out work for agrochemical or pharmaceutical companies or contract with consultant clinical toxicologists who work in the National Health Service. [HL1734]
§ Lord WarnerIt is not possible to provide information regarding all government-owned institutions that operate as commercial contract research organisations as this information is not held centrally.
The Health Protection Agency carries out a wide range of relevant research, some of which is in accordance with contracts placed and funded by pharmaceutical companies. The role of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control in ensuring the safety and efficacy of biological medicines involves some contractual research work with pharmaceutical companies. The National Health Service also undertakes work for pharmaceutical companies under contract. The Department of Health is currently funding research at over 40 per cent of universities in England. Information on which of these universities also carry out work for agrochemical or pharmaceutical companies is not held.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is funding research in the current financial year at around 270 individual organisations. Of these, Defra's main contractors are mostly government-owned or sponsored (for example Defra's own science agencies, research council institutes, universities). As far as is known, all the research contractor base operate commercially as well as providing services to Defra, but information is not held on these commercial activities.