§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the arrangements for fair remuneration to the NHS centre for coding and classification for licence income arising from overseas sales of Read codes material, if he will list the accrued income from each such overseas country; and if he will make a statement. [31198]
§ Mr. HoramThe national health service centre for coding and classification has no responsibilities for overseas use of Read codes. As a result of the negotiations to purchase the copyright of the Read codes in 1990, Computer Aided Medical Systems Ltd. currently has total rights to market Read codes overseas.
Overseas income during the period from March 1990 to 30 September 1995 was £220,000, against which direct expenses and company costs of £270,000 have been expended over the same period. Details of individual arrangements are commercially confidential.
In 1994, CAMS proposed, free of charge, to surrender to the Department of Health its total rights to generate income overseas and to bring overseas income within the controlled cost plus arrangements which apply to the income from NHS sources. Negotiations to amend the original contract are in hand.