§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the next set of research into safety of mobile phone masts. [15376]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 16 November 2001]: In May 2000, the Stewart report on mobile phones and health concluded that there is no general risk to people living near base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small. A subsequent measurement programme undertaken by the Radiocommunications Agency (RA) of mobile masts on school premises has confirmed that exposures are a small fraction of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. Eighty measurements have now been completed and the results are available on the RA web site www.radio.gov.uk.
The Stewart report also recommended that a substantial research programme should be set up to investigate the potential health effects of mobile phone technology as a whole. This programme has been set up under the direction of an independent scientific management 256W committee who have recently assessed a range of research proposals. The first group of projects is expected to start in the next few weeks. Information about the research is being made available at www.mthr.org.uk.