Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

Thursday 8th December 2011 Written Statements

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

The health part of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council met on 2 December in Brussels. Andy Lebrecht, Deputy Permanent Representative to the European Union, represented the United Kingdom .

Council conclusions were adopted on:

closing the gap in health between member states through action on determinants of health, especially nutrition and physical activity;

non-communicable diseases: prevention and control of respiratory diseases in children; and

prevention and control of communication disorders in children, including innovative approaches to treatment.

The Commission provided an update on the health for growth programme and the presidency asked member states to comment on the priorities for the programme. The Commission underlined that the programme would focus on areas where the EU could genuinely add value, in particular, ensuring a smarter investment in health.

The UK welcomed the intention of the proposed programme, but indicated a preference for it to be brought forward as a decision rather than a regulation. A number of member states also emphasised that the programme should respect the principle of subsidiarity, particularly in relation to the health system elements.

The Commission gave an update on the suggestion of splitting the pharmacovigilance provisions from the Commission’s recently published information to patients proposals. It confirmed it would positively pursue this approach.

In addition, Denmark spoke about the plans for its presidency. It confirmed the intention to focus on innovation in health, anti-microbial resistance, and chronic disease (taking diabetes as a model).