§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the quantity of foetal material by weight, excluding placenta, and by numbers of individual foetuses, supplied by hospitals in each of the last three years for which figures are available, and the weights and numbers supplied by each private nursing home licensed by his Department to National Health Service hospitals or research establishments; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe do not collect this information centrally.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to introduce, in consultation with other member states of the European Economic Community, measures to outlaw international trade in dead foetal material.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe have no evidence that any such international trade takes place to or from this country and therefore no reason to take action to regulate it.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will detail the arrangements covering transportation, storage costs and possible loss or theft of foetal material between private nursing homes approved by his Department to supply National Health Service establishments.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThese arrangements are for the nursing homes and research establishments concerned, and we do not collect this information.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services by what means dead foetal material from private nursing homes is transported to the foetal tissue bank at the Royal Marsden hospital; and what 542W arrangements exist to pay for the costs of such transportation between these private nursing homes and the Royal Marsden hospital or its tissue bank.
§ Mr. Kennth ClarkeI understand that the material is collected from the nursing homes by nominated employees of the Medical Research Council and any costs associated with such transportation are met from the council's grant to the foetal tissue bank.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what specific information prompted officials of his Department to carry out an investigation into allegations of a trade in foetal material between the United Kingdom and France; and on what basis his Department was able to decide that allegations of a trade were unfounded.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe allegations referred to were no more specific than that foetal material was being exported from the United Kingdom to French laboratories for the manufacture of cosmetics. Our Department's detailed inquiries in both France and the United Kingdom produced no evidence of any kind to substantiate the allegations.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what responsibility is placed upon officials of his Department to oversee the storage, transportation and disposal of dead foetal material from abortions in private nursing homes, National Health Service hospitals and research centres and establishments under the control of the Medical Research Council; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeOur Department approves the arrangements for the supply of foetal material by nursing homes approved under the Abortion Act. Arrangements for the supply of material by NHS hospitals and the Medical Research Council are the responsibility of their individual establishments. The use and disposal of foetal material is controlled very closely, in accordance with the code of practice recommended in the report of the advisory group on the use of foetuses and foetal material for research (the Peel report 1972).
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his Department has received any information regarding a trade in human pituitary glands or dead foetuses as a result of the trial and conviction of Dr. Mark Patterson at the Old Bailey in July 1984 for conspiracy to sell blood; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe have received no information about any trade of this kind in connection with the trial and conviction of Dr. Mark Patterson.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Robert nursing home is approved to supply foetal material from abortions to any institution other than the Birmingham university medical school; and for what purpose this material is required by this hospital.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The supply of material is approved to the Birmingham university medical school for the study of genetics, umbilical vessels, comparative histology, cancer and foetal development.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Wistans nursing home is 543W approved to supply foetal material to any institution other than St. Bartholomew's hospital and the East Birmingham hospital; and for what purpose this material is required at these two hospitals.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The supply of material is approved for the production of purified alphafetoprotein for screening neural tube defects and for research on chorionic villus sampling.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the London Private hospital, the Park View clinic or the Raleigh nursing home are approved to supply foetal material from abortions to any institution other than the foetal tissue bank, Royal Marsden hospital; and for what purpose this material is required by the Royal Marsden hospital.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The material is required for a variety of approved research projects on virology, immunology, oncology, biochemistry and molecular biology.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Calthorpe nursing home is approved to supply foetal material from abortions to any institution other than the Birmingham children's hospital, East Birmingham hospital and the Birmingham hospital; and for what purpose this material is required by these hospitals.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The supply of material is approved to the Birmingham children's hospital for routine diagnostic work, and to the East Birmingham hospital and the Birmingham maternity hospital for research on chorionic villus sampling.
§ Rev. Martin Smythasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Blackdown nursing home is approved to supply foetal material from abortions to any institution other than the Birmingham maternity hospital and the East Birmingham hospital; and for what purpose this material is required by these hospitals.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The supply of material is approved for research on chorionic villus sampling.