Medicines and Medical Devices Bill

Baroness Sheehan Excerpts

Committee stage & Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard) & Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Monday 26th October 2020 Grand Committee

The implementation of the recommendations of the Cumberlege report would afford an opportunity for the Government to do, and be seen to do, the right thing by patients, particularly women whose avoidable suffering has been caused by medical mistreatment over decades—all too often because of what looks like inherent misogyny on the part of male medics and a consequent trivialisation of the pain, discomfort and longer-term harm which so many women have had to endure. Parliament now has the opportunity not only to put measures in place ensuring that voices are heard in the future but to insist that an independent taskforce is appointed to implement the recommendations of the Cumberlege review without further delay. It is also a chance to bury those who have told the noble Baroness that they intend to bury her report and its recommendations. I wish her amendments well.

[Baroness Sheehan (LD) [V]]

My Lords, is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Alton. I agree with every word of his contribution, which is no surprise; I am usually in agreement with him.

I wish to speak briefly in support of Amendment 8, in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, and the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and to add my voice to support other amendments in this group. Amendment 8 would amend the wording at the start of Clause 1(2) to read

“the appropriate authority must act with a view to ensuring”.

This offers greater purpose of intent on the part of the Government of the day than the existing

“the appropriate authority must have regard to”.

It would strengthen the Government’s responsibility to their citizens over the safety and availability of human medicines, as well as the attractiveness of parts of the UK for clinical trials, et cetera, however that attractiveness is defined. I look forward to the upcoming debate on that issue with interest. It would of course also strengthen the duty of the Government of the day to ensure fair access to medicines, as per Amendment 19, which will be debated later and is in my name and that of my noble friends Lady Jolly and Lord Sharkey, and the noble Lord, Lord Alton, who I always think of as a friend.

It goes without saying that I strongly support all amendments relating to the report of the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege. Finally, I lend my support to Amendment 59 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett. Animals cannot speak for themselves yet they are sentient beings. Their welfare should be our concern.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall) (Lab)]

The noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, has withdrawn from the debate, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly. Is Baroness Jolly with us? I am going to call her one more time; then we will have to move on, I am afraid. Baroness Jolly? Apparently not, so I now call the Minister.

--- Later in debate ---

Moved by

[Baroness Sheehan]

19: Clause 1, page 1, line 12, at end insert—
“(d) citizens’ right to access medicines as part of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health as stated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966; (e) the public health safeguards within the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”) which include but are not limited to—(i) the right to grant compulsory licences and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which licences are granted;(ii) the right to determine what constitutes a national emergency and circumstances of extreme urgency;(iii) the freedom to establish the regime of exhaustion of intellectual property rights.”

[Baroness Sheehan (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I metaphorically rise to move Amendment 19, which is in my name and that of my noble friends Lady Jolly and Lord Sharkey and the noble Lord, Lord Alton, whose support is always very welcome. I look forward to the contributions from other noble Lords who have signalled their intention to speak. It is a matter of deep frustration that a number of noble Lords who wished to contribute to this debate are instead committed to the equally important debate on the internal markets Bill, which is pitted directly against this Bill.

Amendment 19 has been tabled simply to ensure that fair access to medicines is a core aim of the Bill. It would root the Bill in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, which is a binding international human rights treaty that we in the UK ratified in 1976. The amendment would put into the Bill the fundamental right of every citizen

“to access medicines as part of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”

Fair access to medicines is an issue at the forefront of concerns expressed by patients’ groups. There are regular reports in the media about price gouging by pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, one of the key calls in the collated briefing of the Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and the British Association of Dermatologists is that:

“The Bill must include provisions which allow for review of processes for issuing sole manufacturing licenses and consider the use of price control mechanisms in relation to costs of production, to increase access to medicines at fair prices.”


Yet this issue was not brought up during the Bill’s passage through the other place, nor does it feature directly in any other amendment before the Committee. So I hope that your Lordships will forgive what will be a rather full presentation of the important issues raised in the amendment.