NHS England: Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for People at Risk of HIV Debate
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Lord Scriven
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NHS England: Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for People at Risk of HIV
Lord Scriven Excerpts(8 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Prior of Brampton
I would be very happy to meet with the noble Lord. It may be better for him to meet with my honourable friend in the other place who is responsible for public health, but either one of us will be very happy to meet with him.
Lord Scriven (LD)
My Lords, the UK now has the worst HIV epidemic of any large western European country, having overtaken Spain, France and Portugal, and every day, seven men who have sex with men are diagnosed with HIV. In the light of the legal argument and of what the noble Baroness said, the Secretary of State, under the legal advice that was given to NHS England, has the power under Section 7A to delegate who gives these PrEP pills. Could the Minister please ask the Secretary of State to do that until the legal issue is resolved, so that lives are saved, rather than our arguing about who funds this and who has the legal ability to do it?
Lord Prior of Brampton
I am not briefed on Section 7A and am not sure what the powers of the Secretary of State are. After this debate, I will research that and find out what powers he has.