This POSTnote examines the current state of knowledge of ‘slow viruses’ such as BSE, the evidence relevant to the public health implications and uncertainties which remain. POSTnote 14. POST. 1990.

This POSTnote examines the current state of knowledge of ‘slow viruses’ such as BSE, the evidence relevant to the public health implications and uncertainties which remain. POSTnote 14. POST. 1990.

Adjournment debate on the government's response to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

Adjournment debate on the government's response to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. If he bears with me, I will come to both those points. I want to outline what the Government have been doing, but towards the end of my speech I have a number of comments to make in response to...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. If he bears with me, I will come to both those points. I want to outline what the Government have been doing, but towards the end of my speech I have a number of comments to make in response to...

I admire my hon. Friend’s persistence and congratulate him on it, but I fear that it will not push me any further at this moment. I hear what he says about the meeting between my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State and Professor Collinge. I cannot comment on that, but...

I admire my hon. Friend’s persistence and congratulate him on it, but I fear that it will not push me any further at this moment. I hear what he says about the meeting between my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State and Professor Collinge. I cannot comment on that, but...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) on securing this important debate and on his thoughtful and well-informed comments on a matter of public concern and genuine importance. I also pay tribute to his ongoing commitment to keeping the issue of variant CJD in...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) on securing this important debate and on his thoughtful and well-informed comments on a matter of public concern and genuine importance. I also pay tribute to his ongoing commitment to keeping the issue of variant CJD in...

I thank my hon. Friend for his announcements and I note his repetition of some of the points that I have already made. Does he accept that there are already three commercially available materials that can be used for cold sterilisation—but which are not being used and to which the...

I thank my hon. Friend for his announcements and I note his repetition of some of the points that I have already made. Does he accept that there are already three commercially available materials that can be used for cold sterilisation—but which are not being used and to which the...

I was not picking on dentistry specifically, because washer disinfectors are also used in hospitals. They are an excellent idea. They are very expensive, but we are going down the right road. The problem is, however, that the prion sticks to certain stainless steel instruments used in dentistry and elsewhere...

I was not picking on dentistry specifically, because washer disinfectors are also used in hospitals. They are an excellent idea. They are very expensive, but we are going down the right road. The problem is, however, that the prion sticks to certain stainless steel instruments used in dentistry and elsewhere...

I thank my right hon. Friend again for giving way, and for his tolerance. His statement is interesting, although under the previous Government there was a demand by the Department to provide an impact assessment on the P-Capt filter, which should have been ready for Ministers in October 2009. Will...

I thank my right hon. Friend again for giving way, and for his tolerance. His statement is interesting, although under the previous Government there was a demand by the Department to provide an impact assessment on the P-Capt filter, which should have been ready for Ministers in October 2009. Will...

I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his attendance. I know that he has been looking forward to this Thursday afternoon with two and a half hours ahead of him in a warm Chamber. Looking at his smile, he is not taking that too seriously. I need to declare...

I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his attendance. I know that he has been looking forward to this Thursday afternoon with two and a half hours ahead of him in a warm Chamber. Looking at his smile, he is not taking that too seriously. I need to declare...

I can answer my hon. Friend instantly on that. I said just before his intervention that we expect the trial results in 2012, and the impact assessment will be completed only when the trial is completed. The impact assessment, then, will not be available until 2012 when the trials have...

I can answer my hon. Friend instantly on that. I said just before his intervention that we expect the trial results in 2012, and the impact assessment will be completed only when the trial is completed. The impact assessment, then, will not be available until 2012 when the trials have...

I thank the Minister sincerely, because it is unusual for Ministers to give way with such regularity. Perhaps it is also unusual for them to receive requests. I understand that the Under-Secretary of State has considered the matter, and is looking to the private sector to fund the advances and...

I thank the Minister sincerely, because it is unusual for Ministers to give way with such regularity. Perhaps it is also unusual for them to receive requests. I understand that the Under-Secretary of State has considered the matter, and is looking to the private sector to fund the advances and...

I always welcome any justified lobbying for extra funding, especially if it is for research. I do not think it appropriate for me to promise my hon. Friend the earth from the Dispatch Box this afternoon, but I will promise him that I will ensure that his request and his...

I always welcome any justified lobbying for extra funding, especially if it is for research. I do not think it appropriate for me to promise my hon. Friend the earth from the Dispatch Box this afternoon, but I will promise him that I will ensure that his request and his...

First, I am astonished that the PRISM trials have taken so long. They were supposed to finish in 2009, and they have dragged on for a further three years. We really should be worried about the potential development of infection in the intervening period. Secondly, the Minister has delighted us...

First, I am astonished that the PRISM trials have taken so long. They were supposed to finish in 2009, and they have dragged on for a further three years. We really should be worried about the potential development of infection in the intervening period. Secondly, the Minister has delighted us...

I feared that that might prompt another intervention.

I feared that that might prompt another intervention.

Again, if my hon. Friend will bear with me, I will come to these points when I deal with a number of the issues that he raised in his speech. The guidance encourages the purchase of automated washer disinfectors. However, no time frame has been stipulated and they were not...

Again, if my hon. Friend will bear with me, I will come to these points when I deal with a number of the issues that he raised in his speech. The guidance encourages the purchase of automated washer disinfectors. However, no time frame has been stipulated and they were not...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) on securing the debate and I commend him for the diligence that he has shown in getting to grips with what is a quite complex and technical issue. I am grateful to him for accepting the importance of our...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) on securing the debate and I commend him for the diligence that he has shown in getting to grips with what is a quite complex and technical issue. I am grateful to him for accepting the importance of our...

May I pick the Minister up on that point? It seems to me that the European regulations do not apply to animals not intended for the food chain. Just so that we are clear, can the Minister confirm whether that is the case, or whether the regulations as implemented in...

May I pick the Minister up on that point? It seems to me that the European regulations do not apply to animals not intended for the food chain. Just so that we are clear, can the Minister confirm whether that is the case, or whether the regulations as implemented in...

There is no exemption under EU law or domestic law for live cattle, whether or not they are considered to be pets. In fact, the German Government have recently been taken to task for their lax implementation of the cohort rule. We would face exactly the same infraction proceedings were...

There is no exemption under EU law or domestic law for live cattle, whether or not they are considered to be pets. In fact, the German Government have recently been taken to task for their lax implementation of the cohort rule. We would face exactly the same infraction proceedings were...

On that point, my office spoke to the company in San Jose, California, yesterday, to check the timetable. The company said that in the next few months, probably by the end of this year, it would be ready to apply to the EU for testing. Therefore, the timetable is perhaps...

On that point, my office spoke to the company in San Jose, California, yesterday, to check the timetable. The company said that in the next few months, probably by the end of this year, it would be ready to apply to the EU for testing. Therefore, the timetable is perhaps...