§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of the additional resources made available to the National Health Service in the Chancellor's "Autumn Statement" will be devoted to publicising, preventing and researching acquired immune deficiency syndrome and caring and counselling for those infected.
§ Mr. NewtonMy right hon. Friend has announced that £20 million will be spent over the next 12 months on public education on AIDS. Additional resources will also be allocated for costs of treatment, counselling and training; we shall make an announcement on this shortly.
§ Mr. Aspinwallasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list those hospitals and clinics in Avon which have in-patient facilities for treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrome sufferers.
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§ Mr. NewtonI refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) on 20 November at column 323.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the level of current expenditure, and in each of the last four years, on, respectively, research into an AIDS cure or vaccine; screening of persons for AIDS antibodies; advice and counselling for AIDS victims; national publicity for a public health education programme, regional publicity, support for voluntary bodies combating AIDS, clinical care (including hospices) for AIDS victims; and how much is now planned for each of the next three years.
§ Mr. Fowler[pursuant to the reply, 27 November, c. 352]: I refer the hon. Member to my speech on 21 November, when I reported to the House that there were no known cases of AIDS before 1981; that the first case of transmission by blood transfusion was reported in the United States of America in 1983; and that a reliable test for routine screening for blood donations was developed in 1985.
Research in the United Kingdom is being co-ordinated by the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its grant-in-aid through the science budget of the Department of Education and Science. The MRC has awarded 15 special project grants for research on AIDS and immunodeficiency viruses totalling about £1.5 million. Included in the total is an annual special allocation of up to £300,000 from 1986–87 by the health Departments for epidemiological studies of AIDS and support of the United Kingdom centre for co-ordinating epidemiological research on AIDS. Additionally the Department is supporting directly AIDS-related research projects costing £50,000 this year, and £80,000 in 1987–88, and will consider proposals for further directly supported research. Over and above this, a number of major pharmaceutical companies in this country are devoting increasing resources to research relevant to AIDS.
The following information sets out the allocations made by the Department in England in 1986–87:
An effective screening test for the presence of AIDS antibodies suitable for routine use only became available last year. The Blood Transfusion Service is spending some £2 million to £3 million per annum on tesing all blood donations. The Department has specifically allocated nearly £¾million in 1986–87 to the Public Health Laboratory Service Board to do tests for other parts of the National Health Service. In addition the Public Health Laboratory Service Board is spending another £500,000 in 1986–87 on other AIDS related work.
The Department has also made available in 1986–87 £270,000 to the haemophilia reference centres for the provision of advice, testing and counselling services for haemophiliacs. Similar services have also been provided in genito-urinary medicine clinics for those who fear they have been infected by the virus, but comprehensive data are not available on its cost.
As I announced to the House on 21 November, the Government will be making available £20 million over the next twelve months for a national public education campaign. In addition, regional and district health authorities are mounting AIDS public education campaigns from within their own resources.
528WThe Department provides financial support for a number of voluntary bodies providing advice, counselling and care for AIDS patients. In 1986–87, £204,000 was allocated for this purpose.
So far as the cost of clinical care is concerned, the Government made available a total of £2.5 million in 1986–87 to the three regions coping with the largest number of cases. The total cost of clinical care will of course depend on how many cases occur; treatment costs can also vary considerably between cases. On the basis of the numbers of cases notified total expenditure in 1986–87 could be of the order of £3 million to £5 million nationally.
Allocations to health authorities and other bodies for 1987–88 in respect of AIDS are currently under consideration.