NHS: Artificial Intelligence

Debate between Viscount Ridley and Lord O'Shaughnessy

Tuesday 24th April 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

The noble Baroness has highlighted two of the recommendations from the report. I support the proposal for a regulatory framework; it is a piece of work that I have kicked off in the department. I cannot put a timing on that, but I understand the need to provide a safe operating environment so that people who want to get into this field, whether from NHS trusts or businesses, can do so knowing that they are operating on a legal basis. That is something that we are working on.

On digitalisation, she is quite right: the £4 billion programme known as Personalised Health and Care 2020 is trying to deliver before 2020—as the name suggests—the kind of digitalisation that will enable AI to bring those benefits across every corner of the health and care systems.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that many parts of the world envy Britain’s strengths and opportunities in AI, particularly in the health area, and that government procurement could turn this early lead into a golden opportunity for the UK?

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

Yes, I absolutely agree with that. As the report highlights, we have a unique opportunity because of the nature of the way that the NHS was set up and its potential for realising a comprehensive data set of 65 million people. It is not just about those procurement rules; we have talked about having the right framework. It is about providing reassurance within the system—at a time when the public are beginning to understand just what data can do for good and for bad—that the NHS will use their data safely, securely and legally so that they can trust that it is being used for proper purposes from which they will benefit.

Smoking: Vaping

Debate between Viscount Ridley and Lord O'Shaughnessy

Tuesday 19th December 2017 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Ridley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of Public Health England’s decision to include vaping within its stop smoking campaign for 2017, they will review vaping regulations in line with the commitment in the Tobacco Control Plan for England; and if so, when.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord O'Shaughnessy) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to a review of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 by May 2021. There is limited scope for amending the regulations in advance of the UK exiting the EU, so the Government envisage a review taking place after 29 March 2019. Protecting the public’s health will be the priority in any review.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer but I am a little disappointed. Given the strong evidence that vaping is much safer than smoking, that it is very effective at getting people off smoking and that the strength of the vaping industry in this country is one of the main reasons why we are now the second-lowest smoking country in Europe, and given that the Government promised some sensible deregulation in the tobacco control plan, does the Minister share my regret that the EU’s tobacco products directive restricts advertising in particular, making it very hard for vaping companies in this country to bring to smokers the news of the health benefits that can come from it? Will he consider a public information campaign to bring the country’s attention to what vaping can do? Will he perhaps also consider giving clear advice to businesses and councils that they should not be treating vapers as smokers?

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

The noble Viscount is right to highlight the benefits of vaping: it is considerably safer than smoking and is a very effective quitting aid. There is no particular evidence that it encourages people to take up smoking or to transition into smoking. Government policy has, obviously, been made under the EU regulatory framework—and we think that it is pragmatic and evidence based. Direct advertising is, as he will know, banned, but the department, Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority are looking at the current guidelines in this area. I should point out that Public Health England includes in its public health campaigns positive messages about the relative benefits of vaping, so that message is getting out. In the end we must beware of renormalising the act of smoking, even if with a different device, particularly for children, so there is a balance to be struck.

Gene Editing: Agriculture and Medicine

Debate between Viscount Ridley and Lord O'Shaughnessy

Monday 27th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Ridley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to encourage gene editing in agriculture and medicine.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord O'Shaughnessy) (Con)]

My Lords, the UK is a world leader in the understanding of genetics, which is already leading to significant advances in medicine and agriculture. Gene editing has the potential to accelerate progress in both areas, saving lives and improving quality of life. The Government continue to support the assessment, refinement and use of genetic editing techniques.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that reply. Is he aware of widespread concern that, although we are pioneering and leading this essential work using CRISPR and TALEN to edit genes so as to help in both agriculture and medicine, we are falling behind in the race to apply this technology because the use of gene editing in cell therapy for cancer and in producing better crop plants requires and could be encouraged by better regulation? I declare my interests as listed in the register.

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

My noble friend is a leading advocate of this technology and is correct that getting the regulation right is absolutely important. It is currently regulated at the EU level, and there is debate on and an inquiry by the European Court of Justice into current exemptions for gene editing. We support the current exemptions, although others have challenged them. But it is also important to recognise that any discussion about gene editing, whether in agriculture or especially in a human health setting, involves big ethical questions and it is only right that we tread carefully as we move ahead.