Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

Wednesday 2nd June 2010 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Anne Milton)]

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council will meet on 7 and 8 June. The Health and Consumer Affairs part of the Council will be taken on 8 June.



Items on the main agenda are: patients’ rights in cross-border health care; provision of food information to consumers; health inequalities; and national initiatives on salt.

The presidency is likely to ask Ministers for political agreement on the directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border health care. They also propose to adopt Council conclusions on both the reduction of health inequalities and the reduction of salt in food. The United Kingdom supports the adoption of these two proposals. A policy debate is expected on a regulation on the provision of food information.

Under any other business, information will be provided from the presidency on the two aspects of the pharmaceutical package—proposals to reduce the threat from counterfeit medicines and strengthening of community pharmacovigilance. In addition, we expect the presidency to provide information in preparation for the conference of the parties to the framework convention on tobacco control to be held later this year.