HC Deb 03 February 1995 vol 253 cc870-1W
Mr. Sykes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will publish the report of the Advisory Group on Limb Defects.

Mr. Sackville

The group's report has been published today and copies placed in the Library.

I welcome the publication of the group's report which has been prepared promptly. Although defects of the limb which are present at birth are rare, when they occur they are very distressing for the parents and families of the children concerned and speculation on the causes can be a source of worry for women who are pregnant or who are thinking of becoming pregnant. I am particularly glad that REACH—the Association for Children with Hand or Arm Deficiency—which represents many, parents of children with limb defects, were able to send an observer to the advisory group and that it has been able to endorse the group's advice.

The causes of most limb defects are unknown. The Government set up the advisory group on limb defects to determine the best way of making progress. The group's report sets out a programme of action which we intend to take forward. The group recommends a detailed, thorough review of all current relevant research and my officials are negotiating with a research team which will undertake this task. The group has also identified three further lines of inquiry and the Department is exploring these.

The advisory group also considered the value of a case-control study of limb reduction defects. Such studies are most appropriate when a strong new hypothesis—for example, that a particular environmental factor might be a cause—has been raised. There is no such hypothesis in the case of limb defects. The advisory group has therefore advised against such a study at present.

The advisory group also reviewed the evidence of possible adverse effects of specific agents such as dioxins and heavy metals. They found no evidence to show that these substances cause limb reduction defects.

The advisory group commended the steps that are being taken by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to improve the recording and notification of limb defects and birth defects generally, to strengthen the means of monitoring trends, and changes which might merit further investigation.