HC Deb 14 September 2004 vol 424 cc1502-3W
Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to initiate a register of interests for NHS medical practitioners to declare(a) shares in, (b) gifts from and (c) other interests in pharmaceutical companies. [187519]

Mr. Hutton

All national health service staff are already required to declare interests, gifts and sponsorship which might be seen to compromise their position on local registers. The Department last reviewed this in 2002 and considers the current arrangements to be adequate.

Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what systems are in place to monitor the amount of drugs prescribed to NHS patients which have been donated by pharmaceutical companies as promotional material. [187520]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The supply of samples by pharmaceutical companies is regulated under the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994. These stipulate that a free sample must be of the smallest pack of a medicine available for sale, that it may only be provided to a prescriber in response to a written request and that it should be clearly labelled as a promotional sample not for resale. We expect primary care trusts to act on any local evidence that promotional material is being misused.