House of Lords Official Report

Vol. 732 Monday No. 225 21 November 2011 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Questions Health: Early Diagnosis Children: Television International Development Syria London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill Third Reading Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill Second Reading Grand Committee Welfare Reform Bill Committee (15th Day) Written Statements Written Answers For column numbers see back page £3·50 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. The bound volumes also will be sent to those Peers who similarly notify their wish to receive them. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. 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THE INDEX to each Bound Volume of House of Commons Debates is published separately at £9·00 and can be supplied to standing order. All prices are inclusive of postage. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2011, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through The National Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/parliamentary-licence-information.htm Enquiries to The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU; email: [email protected] 811 Health: Early Diagnosis[21 NOVEMBER 2011] Health: Early Diagnosis 812 Earl Howe: My Lords, the noble Lord makes an House of Lords extremely good point. The answer to his question is, Monday, 21 November 2011. yes, I believe that it will have the capacity to do that. He rightly mentions advances in genomic science, 2.30 pm which of course will have a major part to play in the field of diagnostics. As regards rarer diseases, as he Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury will know, we are placing responsibility with the national and Ipswich. Commissioning Board for the commissioning of specialised services for rarer conditions. Health: Early Diagnosis Question Lord Collins of Highbury: My Lords, as the Minister is aware, the reduction of 10 per cent in weight maintained 2.36 pm over a period can reduce the risk of developing type 2 Asked By Lord Sharkey diabetes by 50 per cent. Small improvements in eating and drinking are needed. Will the Minister accept that To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision the country needs a major awareness programme, led there will be for national early diagnosis campaigns by the Government, on what to do to avoid developing for serious diseases following the enactment of the type 2 diabetes; and, under the new legislation, will he Health and Social Care Bill. continue to use his powers? The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Earl Howe: My Lords, the Government have no Department of Health (Earl Howe): My Lords, both current plans for a specific national campaign to raise Public Health England and the NHS Commissioning awareness of diabetes. On the other hand, as part of Board, subject to the passage of the Bill, will have a Change4Life, which we are continuing with, we aim to clear interest in ensuring that early diagnosis supports raise awareness about diet and physical activity, and to improved outcomes in line with the NHS outcomes create what we hope will be a mass movement to help framework, the public health outcomes framework to reduce obesity and related conditions, including and the Secretary of State’s mandate. The Government, diabetes. The campaign encourages everyone to, as set out in Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Update “eat well, move more and live longer”. and Way Forward, continue to reflect on where commissioning responsibility for early diagnosis There is also the very important ingredient of the campaigns should rest. NHS Health Check in this area, which the noble Lord is familiar with, for people in England aged 40 to 74. Lord Sharkey: The Minister will know that there We think that this has the potential to prevent over have been recent and very welcome significant advances 4,000 people a year from developing diabetes. in the early diagnosis of bowel and oesophagal cancers, but not in lung cancer, which is the most common Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, I am sure cause of cancer deaths in men and women. Cancer that the noble Earl is well aware that not only lung Research UK points out that early diagnosis would cancer but all forms of cancer benefit hugely from make a significant difference to the current 5 per cent early diagnosis. Will he ensure that one existing problem 10-year survival rate. Given that, can the Minister tell is dealt with, perhaps through further encouragement the House how much money will be spent on lung of medical education? In the very rare cases of cancer early diagnosis campaigns in this financial year osteosarcoma, and to a certain extent oral cancer, GPs and how much is planned for next year? are not really aware; cases are referred to them and are missed. Surely this must be a matter of further training Earl Howe: My Lords, we have provided funding in the specialities of these rare conditions. for a number of local lung cancer awareness campaigns. On 10 October, we launched a five-week regional lung Earl Howe: My noble friend is absolutely right. It is cancer awareness campaign in the Midlands, using widely recognised that GPs have very important roles TV, radio, press and face-to-face events. All those in prevention and early diagnosis of cancer of all campaigns are aimed at improving public awareness of kinds but that, until recently, there has been very little the signs and symptoms of lung cancer and to encourage information available to enable GPs to benchmark people to visit their GP when they have symptoms. An their own activity and performance against that of evaluation of the impact of those campaigns is now other practices. We have launched what we are calling taking place. I do not have the figure in front of me of GP practice profiles, which will bring together a range the cost of those specific campaigns, but I shall let my of outcomes and process information relevant to cancer noble friend know. in primary care, so that GPs have comparative information available to benchmark their own performance. I think Lord Walton of Detchant: Does the Minister accept this will be a major plus in taking these variations that, with recent advances in molecular biology and forward. genomic diagnosis, many previously untreatable rare diseases have been identified, and that early diagnosis Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: My Lords, the is crucial in order to introduce the newly available responsibility for paediatric care for children aged five treatments for those conditions? Is he satisfied that the to 19 is moving from health—where it is to remain for national Commissioning Board, with its outreach into the under-fives—to local authorities, and public health the subnational senates, will have the facilities available will be responsible for many of these campaigns for to manage these rare diseases appropriately? early diagnosis. In view of this, how will the Government 813 Health: Early Diagnosis[LORDS] Children: Television 814 [BARONESS FINLAY OF LLANDAFF] review since 2005. Instead of waiting for new legislation, ensure that there is joined-up information and data will the Government urge Ofcom to review the EPG collection between public health, the local authority, code sooner rather than later, and place BBC’s children’s and the point at which diagnosis of complex conditions channels in their right and proper place? I declare an is made, which is usually in general practice and interest as an independent producer and a children’s paediatric departments, and therefore in health? presenter. Earl Howe: The noble Baroness draws attention to Baroness Rawlings: My Lords, my noble friend an issue which we have been debating in various forms Lady Benjamin is right. As we all know, she has under this Bill, which is how we join up services and formidable experience in this area and is a passionate make the whole system hang together in the way that supporter of children’s television in the UK. We believe we all wish to see. The short answer to her question is that with around 30 dedicated children’s channels in that, at local authority level, the health and well-being the UK, our younger viewers have a wide choice of boards will be responsible for co-ordinating that kind programmes. Two of these are public service broadcasting of information. However, we will also want to make channels: the BBC services of CBeebies and CBBC. I sure that this takes place at a national level too. The hope that my noble friend agrees that the BBC is outcomes data that we get from secondary care providers fulfilling its public duty by making certain that these will in time, I am confident, produce information that channels play a very important role in the provision of will feed into public health campaigns.

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