Health: HIV

Lord Lexden Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow my noble friend Lady Bottomley, who is as enthusiastic today as she was when she held office, with such distinction, as Secretary of State for Health.

In the last few years, the House has become accustomed to returning, from time to time, to this grave public health issue. So often the impetus has come from the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, an unwavering friend to all of us, regardless of party, who believe strongly that, though very significant progress has been made, not least as a result of his courageous work in the 1980s, much remains to be done. Above all, the country at large needs to be made aware that the disappearance of stories of heart-rending agony from the front pages of our newspapers does not mean that a great crisis has been almost entirely resolved and that the political agenda no longer needs to make much provision for it. As we have heard, HIV continues to spread rapidly. Public opinion requires a wake-up call. In these circumstances, it surely must be right for us to press the Government to commit themselves firmly to the objective of eliminating this terrible scourge.

My noble friend Lord Black, a close personal friend for exactly 30 years, has performed a signal service by securing this most timely debate. Concerns about the prospects of steady further progress are accumulating to such an extent that serious anxiety now exists among the valiant organisations that work so hard on behalf of actual and potential HIV sufferers. Wide publicity has been given to one of the principal concerns, the delay in introducing a miraculous new drug. It is tragic that protracted action in the courts should have become necessary. It is tragic, too, that some have sought to create tensions between those dedicated to the relief of HIV and others suffering grave hardship from other sources. As my favourite Times columnist, Janice Turner, put it recently, at its heart, the PrEP controversy shows where tolerance of gay lives ends.

I will touch briefly on another of the many sources of concern. It is becoming evident that, as a result of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the provision of HIV and other sexual health services is in danger of becoming seriously fragmented. The crux of the problem seems to be that the division of commissioning responsibilities between NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities is confusing and unclear. The damaging implications have been the focus of a detailed inquiry by the All-Party Group on HIV and AIDS. Its report will be published shortly. In the light of it, the Government will surely need to consider how they can ensure that HIV prevention and testing are not set back, particularly at a time of falling local authority budgets. They will also need to clarify where the responsibility for commissioning HIV support services actually rests.

Finally, I will say a word about Northern Ireland, for this debate relates to the whole United Kingdom. I have always been particularly interested in all that happens there, including during the time that my noble friend Lord Prior’s father was its deeply committed Secretary of State, more than 30 years ago. The greatest concern of Positive Life, Northern Ireland’s only HIV-specific charity, is the heavy stigma that still attaches to HIV in the Province. It is pressing for investment in education and the raising of greater awareness in both schools and the wider community. It states:

“There has been little communication with the public since the 1980s and a recent public health advertising campaign did little to address the misinformation and myths that surround the condition”.

There could be no more telling reminder of the continuing need to combat prejudice wherever it arises, a point made repeatedly by the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, and emphasised in his book AIDS: Don’t Die of Prejudice. Policy in Northern Ireland is, of course, determined at Stormont, but its leaders must always be able to look to the Government here for an unwavering, resolute approach to combating HIV and for encouragement to emulate it.