§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cost to the NHS of tobacco-related patient episodes, for each of the last five years. [38774]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe relationship between tobacco use and individual patient episodes is not straightforward. The best available assessment, from the Health Education Authority's 1993 report "The Smoking Epidemic—A Prescription for Change", estimated that the cost to the NHS of treating smoking-related diseases is £610 million.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population in each age cohort by gender, were regular smokers, for each of the last five years. [38773]
§ Mr. SackvilleEstimates of smoking prevalence are not carried out on a year-by-year basis. The available information is shown in the table.
(2) what steps he intends to take to implement the policy of Her Majesty's Government that the membership of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority should be balanced; and if he will make a statement. [39281]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1992 sets down basic requirements for the balance between lay and scientific membership of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Care is 681W taken in making appointments to ensure that the authority has access among the membership, to the relevant expertise, skills and personal qualities necessary to carry out its functions. No individual is excluded from membership of the authority because of his or her personal convictions. However, it is important before appointing members to ascertain whether they have any specific views which may make it difficult for them to participate in the full range of the authority's activities. These include granting licences for embryo research.
Mrs. WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he intends to make during the course of the quinquennial review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority of the conflict between the need responsibly to control experiments on human embryos in accordance with strict criteria and the need to generate income through fees charged upon the granting of licences authorising such experimentation. [39282]
§ Mr. SackvilleIt was a decision of Parliament during the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1992 that part of the running costs of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority should be met from fees. I am not aware of any evidence of a conflict of interests resulting from these arrangements. I will consider the matter again should the findings of the quinquennial review call for such action.
Mrs. WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what information he has concerning the number of human embryos which have been killed in each year since the establishment of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and in accordance with licences issued by that authority; what fees were raised by such licences in each of those years; and what is the resultant cash revenue per human embryo death so far realised by the authority; [39283]
(2) if he will list by period of membership those individuals who have served on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority; if he will indicate in the case of each member the total number of (a) licences and (b) human embryo deaths which were authorised by the authority during that individual's terms of service; if he will indicate in each case the revenue raised by such licences in that period; and if he will calculate the cash revenue per human embryo death realised during the period of the term of office of each of those individuals. [39284]
§ Mr. SackvilleDetails of the membership of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority are set out in the authority's annual reports, the fourth of which was published on 11 October 1995. Copies of all annual reports are available in the Library.
Information about the number of embryos is not available in the form requested. Information about the number of embryos donated for research, the number of research licences issued and income generated by them is shown in the table. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act requires the written consent of the man and woman who donated the gametes before any research is undertaken.
682W
Research licences Embryo donated for research Income from research licences £ August 1991-December 1991 1 2,497 100 1992 32 7,038 3,200 1993 30 9,518 3,000 1994 34 8,452 3,400