Written question asked by Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 26 November 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 December 2002. It was answered by Hazel Blears (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 December 2002 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what cost-benefit analysis has been carried out by his Department into laboratory transfers from the (a) Public Health Laboratory Service, (b) National Radiological Protection Board, (c) Centre for Applied Microbiology Research and (d) National Focus for Chemical Incidents to a Health Protection Agency.

Answer: Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what cost-benefit analysis has been carried out by his Department into laboratory transfers from the (a) Public Health Laboratory Service, (b) National Radiological Protection Board, (c) Centre for Applied Microbiology Research and (d) National Focus for Chemical Incidents to a Health Protection Agency. [84251] Ms Blears: The bodies listed are all to be subsumed into the proposed Health Protection Agency in their entirety, after the public health laboratory service (PHLS) has transferred to national health service trusts some 30 of its laboratories that carry out general clinical diagnostic microbiology. These are the only laboratory transfers involved in creating the proposed Health Protection Agency. The benefits of transferring laboratories of the PHLS to NHS trusts include: They are essential to create a comprehensive, coherent surveillance system, as described in the Chief Medical Officer's strategy "Getting Ahead of the Curve". They will broaden the number of clinical staff required to report the occurrence of infectious diseases. They will place a duty of care on all microbiology laboratories to report for public health surveillance purposes. Generally, the transfers will bring public health activities within the mainstream of the NHS. The creation of the Health Protection Agency is to be carried out at no overall cost.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 84251; 395 c911W;395 c909W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Cost benefit analysis Health Health Protection Agency Protection Radiation National Radiological Protection Board Public Health Laboratory Service Microbiology Research Laboratories Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research National Focus for Chemical Incidents
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk