HC Deb 08 September 2003 vol 410 cc197-8W
Dr. Fox

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a report on the progress of Health Action Zones. [127367]

Mr. Hutton

The University of Glasgow was contracted to undertake the evaluation of health action zones. The research team is currently working on the final report for the Department of Health. The intellectual property reights for the findings rest with the contractor and the Department will encourage them to publish.

Linda Perham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that health action zones include withdrawal and rehabilitation clinics for people who have been over-medicated and may have severe dependency problems. [127851]

Mr. Hutton

Health action zones (HAZs) were set up to address health inequalities in the most deprived areas of England. It is for the primary care trusts (PCTs) within HAZ areas to decide, with local stakeholders, which services should be provided and how to allocate resources to deliver them. PCTs have a responsibility to ensure that adequate controls are in place to minimise dependency and to treat dependency problems where they occur.

Linda Perham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to instruct health action zones to undertake an audit of the(a) financial and (b) quality of life costs of the adverse effects of psychotropic drugs. [127858]

Ms Rosie Winterton

All medicines are assessed for quality, safety and efficacy prior to the grant of a licence by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with independent expert advice from the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM). A licence will not be granted unless the MHRA/CSM considers the benefits of treatment outweigh the risks of adverse effects. Once licensed, the MHRA/CSM continue to monitor the safety of medicines in clinical practice and take necessary action to optimise their safe use.

Health action zones were set up to develop local, bottom-up approaches to tackling health inequalities in the 26 most deprived areas of England. It is for the primary care trusts within those health action zones areas to decide with local stakeholders what those approaches will be and how best to allocate resources to deliver them.