Vol. 736 Wednesday No. 286 21 March 2012 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Questions Work Capability Assessment: Cancer Treatments Health and Social Care Bill: HIV/AIDS Programmes Criminal Records Bureau Drought London Local Authorities Bill [HL] Commons Amendments Scotland Bill Committee (5th Day) Grand Committee Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2012 Schedule 5 to the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (Modification) Order 2012 Localism Act 2011 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2012 Parish Councils (General Power of Competence) (Prescribed Conditions) Order 2012 Considered in Grand Committee 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. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201212/ldhansrd/index/120321.html PRICES AND SUBSCRIPTION RATES DAILY PARTS Single copies: Commons, £5; Lords £3·50 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £865; Lords £525 WEEKLY HANSARD Single copies: Commons, £12; Lords £6 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £440; Lords £255 Index: Annual subscriptions: Commons, £125; Lords, £65. LORDS VOLUME INDEX obtainable on standing order only. Details available on request. BOUND VOLUMES OF DEBATES are issued periodically during the session. Single copies: Commons, £105; Lords, £40. Standing orders will be accepted. 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 2012, 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] 909 Work Capability Assessment[21 MARCH 2012] Health and Social Care Bill: HIV/AIDS 910 Lord German: My Lords, the Government have had House of Lords just nine or 10 days since the consultation ended to bring a response. However, does my noble friend agree Wednesday, 21 March 2012. that the state and the benefit system have to perform the important job of supporting people who have 3pm suffered or are suffering from cancer and ensure that not only the method of treatment but also the condition Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Birmingham. of each individual is looked at? We must treat every person as an individual and not take a tick-box approach to their problems. Work Capability Assessment: Cancer Treatments Lord De Mauley: My noble friend makes an extremely Question good point. 3.06 pm Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, what is the Asked By Baroness Morgan of Drefelin position with people undergoing chemotherapy? In many cases, if they are on a monthly cycle, the first To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes week will be absolutely intolerable; then they will be are planned to the work capability assessment following fine for two weeks; then it will be absolutely ordinary their informal consultation on accounting for the living in the next week; and then they will start the effects of cancer treatments. cycle again. Is that treated as a total continuing period for a work capability assessment, or will they be expected to do something in the one week when they Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: I beg leave to ask the are better off? Question standing on the Order Paper in my name, and in so doing I declare an interest as chief executive of a research cancer charity. Lord De Mauley: My noble friend makes a valid point. Of course she is right: they will be treated as being under treatment. Lord De Mauley: My Lords, our informal consultation on accounting for the effects of cancer treatment in the work capability assessment closed on 9 March. We Lord McKenzie of Luton: My Lords, can the Minister received almost 90 responses to the consultation. We give us an update on the success rate of appeals are currently analysing these responses and will in due against WCA determinations? course publish a consultation response which will outline our proposals. Until we have done so, it would Lord De Mauley: Yes, my Lords. The rate of successful be inappropriate to comment on any changes to the appeals remains at about 40 per cent. We recognise the work capability assessment. importance of getting decisions right the first time, and we are committed to improving the decision-making Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, can the process as part of the drive to ensure that the work Minister inform the House what action the Government capability assessment is as fair and effective as possible. are taking to ensure that the intended introduction next month of the contributory ESA time limit will not impact adversely on those cancer patients who are Health and Social Care Bill: HIV/AIDS currently claiming contributory ESA? Programmes Question Lord De Mauley: Before I do so, my Lords, I would like to place on record our thanks to the noble Baroness 3.10 pm and Breast Cancer Campaign for the valuable work that they do in this field. We are committed to supporting Asked By Baroness Thornton cancer sufferers in the most appropriate way through To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the welfare system. As evidence of that commitment, a they have made of the risks posed by implementation year ago we extended the support group to include of the Health and Social Care Bill to HIV/AIDS both those awaiting and those between courses of programmes. treatment. As a result, 68 per cent of employment support allowance claimants whose primary condition is cancer are placed in the support group and will be Baroness Northover: My Lords, HIV services are, unaffected by time-limiting. We of course recognise and will continue to be, comprehensive. They include that some individuals will be affected. This is a highly surveillance and national and local prevention, treatment sensitive area and we must get our proposals right. and care. The NHS Commissioning Board will lead That is why, as I explained, we undertook a consultation, on commissioning treatment and care services. This are analysing the responses we received and will publish recognises that HIV treatment is specialised and that a response soon. We will then fully assess the implications prevalence varies. Local authorities will commission of those proposals, with a view to implementing such HIV prevention services in line with their wider remit changes as are necessary as quickly as possible. regarding sexual health and health inequalities. 911 Health and Social Care Bill: HIV/AIDS[LORDS] Health and Social Care Bill: HIV/AIDS 912 Baroness Thornton: I thank the Minister for that public health. There are incentives within that for Answer, which confirms that HIV treatment and care them to try to improve the health of their populations. will be commissioned by the national Commissioning Local authorities are best placed to understand the Board, that some preventive work will be conducted public health pressures, which are not just in this area, by local authorities and that national HIV prevention on their local populations. will be commissioned by Public Health England. However, On prevention and treatment, the emphasis in recent it is unclear who will commission post-exposure years—under the previous Government, as under ours— prophylaxis following sexual exposure, PEPSE, which has been on the high-risk groups, particularly gay men is vital specialist work to halt the spread of HIV. Who and people from the sub-Saharan region. Those are will commission that work, and how do the Government the groups at greatest risk. However, a sexual health intend to ensure that all the services will not be diminished policy document is being worked on at the moment. If by being commissioned by at least three different it is felt that it is important to feed into it that there is a bodies or lost when those bodies begin their work? need for nationwide emphasis on this matter, now is the time to emphasise it. Baroness Northover: I assure the noble Baroness that the current high level of care and commissioning will continue. The reason the Commissioning Board is Baroness Masham of Ilton: My Lords, will the Minister taking responsibility nationally is that this is a costly assure the House that there will not be fragmentation disease to treat and its prevalence is varied around the in regard to this very complicated condition? Will country, so it makes sense if the board has overall there be NICE guidelines? The drugs for HIV are very responsibility for that. As the noble Baroness knows, complex and there is a fear that there might be resistance. public health has moved to the local authorities, which is why it is appropriate for prevention to be placed at Baroness Northover: As with every other area, this that level. With regard to joining up care, as she will kept under close review to make sure that things knows, the health and well-being boards locally will are suitably joined up and that we have high-quality do a great deal to ensure that they look at the needs of prevention and treatment.