Written Statement of 30 June 2004

  Essential Medicines
  The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos):
  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Gareth Thomas) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  I have placed in the Libraries of both Houses copies of the new UK Government paper Increasing access to essential medicines in the developing world: UK Government policy and plans. This paper is published by the Department for International Development (DfID) on behalf of seven government departments—the Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Her Majesty's Treasury, the Inland Revenue, the Patent Office and DfID. These departments worked together to deliver the paper.

  The lack of access to essential medicines in developing countries is one of the most pressing global health issues. Tackling this could save millions of lives every year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that as many as 4 million lives could be saved each year in Africa and south-east Asia with improved access to medicines. However, while some encouraging progress has been made in recent years, there remains a limited supply of affordable medicines and inadequate health systems to deliver them in many developing countries, and a continuing shortage of new products to meet developing country health needs.

  We have strengthened collaboration and policy coherence across government to address this issue and have jointly agreed next steps. These are outlined in the paper, and cover four areas:

  1. Support to developing countries through the UK development assistance programme, with a focus on increasing poor people's access to health services;

  2. Trade policy, focusing on supporting developing countries in understanding and making use of the flexibilities within World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules governing intellectual property;

  3. Engagement with the business community, focusing on work with the pharmaceutical industry, to address the longer-term supply of affordable medicines to developing countries;

  4. Efforts in the UK and internationally to stimulate increased research and development into new medicines and other healthcare products relevant to developing country health needs.

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  We will, for example: work with UK research institutions to establish a UK funders forum for health research relevant to developing country needs; monitor and evaluate the UK vaccines research relief, a tax credit for the research and development of products for HIV, TB and malaria; work with the pharmaceutical industry to develop a best practice framework, to support and encourage companies in their work to increase access to medicines; implement any necessary legislation within the UK (and EU) to facilitate export to developing countries under compulsory license, if requested, in line with the WTO General Council's decision of 30 August 2003.

  Implementation of the paper will require continued collaboration across government. It will also require us to work in partnership with developing country governments, international agencies and donors, civil society, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, the broader private sector and the research community.

  East Midlands Development Agency
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville):
  My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Hewitt) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  I have decided to appoint Bryan Jackson as the new chair of the board of the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA).

  The appointment will begin on 14 December 2004 and is for three years, expiring on 13 December 2007. I have placed further details of this appointment in the Library of both Houses. The appointment has been made in accordance with the code of practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

  Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance: Annual Report 2002
  The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean):
  Copies of the first annual report by Fiona Lindsley, the Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance refusals without the right of appeal, will be placed in the Library of the House today.

  The report covers a review of decisions taken in the calendar year 2002. It should have been submitted by 30 November 2003, but was delayed due to the late appointment of the independent monitor. I thank Ms Lindsley for her hard work in completing her first report as Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance.

  We welcome Ms Lindsley's report. It contains a number of interesting recommendations, a number of which have already been addressed.

  Ms Lindsley has started working on her second report, for the calendar year 2003, which should be submitted to my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (Mr Jack Straw) by 30 November 2004.

  Non-competitive Government Contracts
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach):
  My honourable friend the Minister of State for Defence (Mr Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  I am pleased to announce that the Government have accepted the recommendations in the Review Board for Government Contracts 2003 general review of the profit formula for non-competitive government contracts.

  This package of measures, to be implemented from 1 July 2004, represents a significant modernising of the current profit formula arrangements, and is consistent with the department's defence industrial policy.

  The measures that will be introduced include an alternative profit calculation methodology, a recognition that there are varying degrees of risk associated with defence non-competitive contracts, arrangements for addressing "profit on profit", a formula for sharing excess profits and unconscionable losses, and incentives to encourage timely submission of post-costing certificates.
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  A copy of the report has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Financial Services Authority: Annual Report 2003-04
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey):
  My honourable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Ms Ruth Kelly) has made the following Written Statement.

  The annual report 2003–04 of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today been laid before Parliament. Copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

  The report forms a key part of the accountability mechanism for the Financial Services Authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), and assesses the performance of the Financial Services Authority over the past 12 months against its statutory objectives.