Prime Minister's Update

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Mr Speaker—[Interruption.] My voice is restored. My right hon. Friend has talked about a surrender Act, which is quite accurate. Does he recall, as I do, because I was in the House at the time, the 1989 Act introducing the community charge, which was persistently described as a poll tax by the Opposition deliberately to stoke up anger and opposition in the country?

[Mr Speaker]

I appreciate the good humour of the hon. Gentleman. I am sorry that he was struggling with his throat, but it was suggested to me that he could usefully take a herbal remedy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 7th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

This is a general question about best practice in the NHS, into which the hon. Member for Bosworth (David Tredinnick) could legitimately shoehorn his concerns about acupuncture, chiropractic therapies, osteopathy and other non-drug based, non-addictive options for pain management, about which I think he is keen to expatiate.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

19.   Mr Speaker, I am clearly in your good books and I am most grateful. Will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State explain why so little use is made of these three therapies in the health service, and why NICE has not made any attempt to look at hospitals in China, 50,000 of which use acupuncture for lower back pain?

East Midlands Rail Franchise

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Thursday 11th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am keen to accommodate colleagues, but we have the business question to follow and thereafter another statement, and after that the Prime Minister’s statement. There is a premium upon brevity, to be exemplified by single-sentence questions, pioneered by the hon. Gentleman from Bosworth, Mr David Tredinnick—one sentence, man.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. As part of his response to the new franchisee, which will be broadly welcomed in my constituency if it really does produce new trains, better capacity and improved stations—from listening to my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), I am not so sure about that—will my hon. Friend look at connectivity between Leicester and Nuneaton via Hinckley? There are also big concerns about the west coast main line.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr David Duguid. No? He previously signalled an interest, and I was trying to accommodate him, but never mind.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

If my right hon. Friend had been elected leader of the Labour party, would she be allowing a free vote this evening?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Wednesday 25th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Q13. Is my right hon. Friend aware that, according to the World Health Organisation, the second largest medical system in the world, with 300,000 doctors treating 200 million patients every year, is homeopathy—[Hon. Members: “Ah!”] That is the evidence. Will my right hon. Friend congratulate—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. That is very discourteous. I want to hear the views of the hon. Gentleman on this matter.

[David Tredinnick]

Will my right hon. Friend congratulate the doctors who are members of the Faculty of Homeopathy on their work in the health service, particularly in dealing with cases that are too difficult to treat conventionally? Does she agree that homeopathic vets should be able to make their own minds up about whether to use homeopathy on its own or with other treatments, too?

Parking Places (Variation of Charges) Bill

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Friday 3rd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick]

I am in error because I should clearly have asked my hon. Friend to join the Committee. He would have made a major contribution. One of the privileges of introducing a private Member’s Bill is that one has some influence over the membership of the Committee, and it is good to see my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris), who served on the Committee, sitting behind the Treasury Bench. The Committee examined the Bill with some care.

At the end of Second Reading, I said:

“I can say in all honesty that this modest two-clause Bill will improve the quality of life in every city and town in this country. I am…grateful for the Government’s support.”—[Official Report, 25 November 2016; Vol. 617, c. 1195.]

I am pleased to see the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones), who is my neighbour across the A5, Watling Street. No doubt he will have some remarks to make. As the Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter), will know, the Labour party supported the Bill in Committee, and I hope that we continue to have his support today.

This is a simple Bill. In fact, my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope), who is not known as a great friend of private Members’ legislation, whispered in my ear one day—being a very educated man and a classical scholar, perhaps—that this is a de minimis Bill, which I interpreted as meaning that there is very little in it. I have to tell you, Mr Speaker, and my hon. Friends that that was the point of this Bill. I was No. 5 on the list, and, having decided to run with this issue, I felt it had to be a simple Bill that appealed to all parts of the House. I did not want it to attract controversy and encourage colleagues to speak for a very long time and perhaps impede its progress.

You may recall, Mr Speaker, that, in an impromptu remark on Second Reading, I described this as a Santa Claus Bill, as we were in the run-up to Christmas. The first and perhaps most important provision of this Bill is that it allows councils to reduce parking charges without giving 21 days’ notice in their local newspaper or in the media. It is increasingly important that councils have flexibility, and I will explain why in a moment. The second part of the Bill is to force councils to consult on increasing charges, but it does not affect the charges themselves.

Let me just refer to Santa Claus again. I was somewhat stunned when I went into the shop in the House in the run-up to Christmas and found a tree decoration of Father Christmas holding the Santa Act 2016. Clearly, I had been able to inspire somebody in the House authorities to produce this Christmas decoration, but it was a little premature in that the decoration referred to an Act. I can assure you, Mr Speaker, that, as a slightly superstitious Member, I would not conceive of putting such a decoration on a tree until my Bill had been enacted.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Whether, and to what extent, the hon. Gentleman indulges in retail therapy and what assessment he has made of the aesthetic merits of such attractions in the shop or no is a matter of consuming, almost intoxicating, interest to Members of the House, but I question whether it is altogether relevant to the particular subject matter that is supposed to be under discussion. Knowing him, I feel sure that he will have a response.

--- Later in debate ---

[David Tredinnick]

My hon. Friend, ever eloquent, has struck a rich seam there. I am not going to mine it, but no doubt she can come back to that point.

For greater clarity, Mr Speaker, I should say that the statistics I just gave were for the cities, towns and villages in England.

[Mr Speaker]

Ah!

[David Tredinnick]

The Bill actually affects Wales, but it will not be implemented there and I do not have the statistics for Wales.

Something that has not been mentioned in any of the proceedings so far is what I call unusual events. I shall cite two exceptional events and suggest that the Bill might be useful in those circumstances. I have always been really happy to represent the constituency of Bosworth, which is where English history changed on 22 August 1485, when the last of the Yorkist Plantagenet line—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 20th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The constituency of the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) was just mentioned and he came in on cue. Unfortunately, he was not within the curtilage of the Chamber at the material time. No doubt we will hear from him at a later date, to which we look forward with eager anticipation.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

2. What his Department’s definition is of evidence-based medicine; and if he will make a statement.

Daesh: Syria/Iraq

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The fellow may have some difficulty securing election in a UK constituency by the recognisably democratic methods that we favour, but I know what the Foreign Secretary was saying. I call Mr David Tredinnick.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has referred at some length to the challenges presented by Russia, but does he not agree that there are now also huge opportunities? A very good example is the co-operation we saw yesterday with Tim Peake going into space. Does he recall that, 24 years ago, another British cosmonaut, Helen Sharman—she was known as the woman from Mars, because she worked for the Mars confectionery company—went up in space, and the former Member for the Western Isles, Calum MacDonald, and I were there to see it at the Baikonur cosmodrome? Does my right hon. Friend not agree that, overall, it is now in the British national interest to have better relations with Russia, and that if he wants more co-operation at the UN, it would be a good idea to look again at the Russian-Ukrainian situation?

G20 and Paris Attacks

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 17th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. After his uninterrupted 28 years’ service in the House, I feel sure that the hon. Member for Bosworth (David Tredinnick) can put a question briefly and, very likely, in a single sentence. I call Mr Tredinnick.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister heard anything about the possibility of partition as a settlement, along the lines of Cyprus, leaving an Alawite, five-tribal area in the south and a free Syria in the north?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 13th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is clear evidence that homeopathy is effective in treating autism, especially when doctors have not found a solution? Now that the Society of Homeopaths is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority, will he make more use of homeopathy in the health service generally, and in this particular instance?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman’s question is quite a long way from the statutory guidance, but it can be given a brief reply.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 1st April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister’s answers are too long. He really has to get that into his head. I do not know how hard I have to try. I try to help the hon. Gentleman, but he is not very good at helping himself.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

In his travels to the People’s Republic of China, what has my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State learned about the integration of western medicine with traditional Chinese medicine?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 27th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the Minister for her answers, including her very generous and gracious remarks. I wish her a full and speedy recovery.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend the Minister agree that Penny Brohn Cancer Care, based near Bristol, which offers a unique combination of physical, emotional and spiritual support designed to help patients live well with the impact of cancer, is an organisation that should be supported? Can she confirm that such organisations are eligible for funds from the cancer drugs fund?

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 13th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I have no need to invite a Minister to do that, but I will say two things to the hon. Gentleman. First, he has made his own point in his own way, with great clarity, and I hope he feels satisfied about that. Secondly, all Ministers are responsible for the accuracy or otherwise of their statements to the House. In the event of an inaccurate or incorrect statement, a Minister is responsible for correcting the record. The hon. Gentleman’s point will, I trust, have been heard.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. In fact, I have two points of order, and have given you notice of one of them, which is about Parliament square. As you are aware, the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 made it possible for the square to be cleared, but unfortunately the remaining demonstration seems to have expanded, and is clearly in breach of the “prohibited activity” of keeping, placing or

“using any sleeping equipment…for the purpose of sleeping overnight”.

I wonder whether you are satisfied with the situation, Mr Speaker, given that only a few months ago an Act passed by Parliament came into force so that it could be addressed.

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer to the hon. Gentleman’s point of order is that, in respect of the situation in Parliament square, I have rarely been satisfied—very rarely—and I am not satisfied about it now.

It is for the courts to enforce the law and the regime to which the hon. Gentleman has referred. I hope he will understand when I say that I do not wish to engage further with him on this matter at this time, but I shall be happy to look into it, and perhaps even to have a discussion with him outside the Chamber. However, I am sensitive to the inconvenience that he and other hon. and right hon. Members have experienced and continue to experience.

[David Tredinnick]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I have a feeling that the hon. Gentleman’s appetite for his second point of order is undiminished.

[David Tredinnick]

It is, Mr Speaker; I am most grateful. It will not have escaped your notice that last Monday, 5 November, another demonstration came down Whitehall and then blocked the main gates of Parliament at the time of the 10 pm Division, making it impossible for Members to enter the House via the normal route. I wonder whether you are satisfied with the situation, Mr Speaker, given that at the beginning of all Sessions we used to pass Sessional Orders which instructed the police to keep the access of Parliament clear, and whether you feel that the provisions of the recently passed Act are sufficient in that respect.

[Mr Speaker]

I am not sure on the latter point. However, the hon. Gentleman is quite right in his recollection of the previous content of Sessional Orders. I understand that they ceased to include any such reference because it was judged that the reference was ineffective, in that there was no legal power of enforcement. We might have felt better, in and of ourselves, with such an order, but it did not actually work. Whether the fact that the alternative state of affairs is not working either is satisfactory is another matter.

I understand why the hon. Gentleman is dissatisfied, and, again, I shall be happy to have further conversations with him. I am sure that the House will applaud the disinterested and public-spirited way in which he seeks to uphold not only his own rights, but those of hon. and right hon. Members throughout the House.

If there is no further point of order, either from the hon. Gentleman or from any other Member, perhaps we can now deal with the ten-minute rule motion.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am sorry to disappoint colleagues, but we must move on.

[David Tredinnick]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman has been in the House since 1987; he knows perfectly well that points of order come after statements, not before them. I feel certain that he was just teasing the House and me.

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Government Chief Whip came to the House to move the writ for the Corby by-election, with Louise Mensch applying to become the steward of the Manor of Northstead in Yorkshire. The Opposition Chief Whip then came to the House to apply for the writs for Cardiff South and Penarth, and for Manchester Central, with Tony Lloyd also applying to become the steward of the Manor of Northstead in Yorkshire. I put it to you, Mr Speaker, that it is not possible, and I do not think that Her Majesty has necessarily agreed, to have two stewards of her Manor of Northstead. The Opposition Chief Whip has therefore not moved the writ for Manchester Central properly, in that there can be only one steward—the steward, not a steward.

[Mr Speaker]

I am immensely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. He clearly takes a very keen interest in this matter, either on his own behalf, that of his Bosworth constituents or conceivably even Her Majesty. I may tell him that it is possible for there to be serial appointments to the office in question. I do not say that the hon. Gentleman’s interest in this matter is in any way anorakish, but it is certainly intense, and I hope that he will be satisfied when I tell him that the second appointment to the said office has the effect of causing the lapse of the first appointment. I hope that that has brought a little joy into his life.

Point of Order

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 10th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I wonder whether you have heard the reports on the 4 o’clock news that the programme motion will not be moved this evening. Can we expect a statement on that matter, please?

[Mr Speaker]

I have not heard the reports—I was not listening to the 4 o’clock news—and, as the hon. Gentleman well knows, that is not a matter for me, and it is certainly not a point of order.

We come now to the ten-minute rule motion—[Interruption.] Before I call Dr Julian Huppert, I appeal to right hon. and hon. Members who do not wish to hear the presentation by Dr Huppert and who are leaving the Chamber to do so quickly and quietly, so that the hon. Gentleman can present his motion, which we await with eager anticipation.

Middle East and North Africa

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Wednesday 9th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend re-evaluate the travel ban in parts of Kenya, particularly in Malindi, which is an important tourist resort where thousands of African workers have no work and are likely to be—or could be—recruited by terrorists? Many local people believe it is now safe.

[Mr Speaker]

My geography may be at fault, but I do not think it is. The Foreign Secretary is a wise man and he will judiciously and briefly deal with the matter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 18th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that many patients look to NHS Choices for accurate and unbiased information? Is he aware that its site on homeopathy is both biased and inaccurate? As the Department has had a long-standing review that has not reported, will he—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I call the Minister.

Eurozone

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. A great number of Members are still seeking to catch my eye, and I am keen to accommodate them, but progress so far has been at best leisurely. What is required is brevity, a legendary example of which will now be provided by Mr David Tredinnick.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Is not the fundamental problem with the Greeks that even if a package is agreed, there is no way the Government can implement it, because the tax authorities have themselves said that they are not going to do so? A depreciated or, indeed, a new currency for Greece would give my Hinckley constituents and others some chance of buying cheaper Greek holidays and stimulating the economy.

Public Order Policing

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Monday 13th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Many right hon. and hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye. There are two further statements to follow, before we even reach the main business of the day, so if I am to accommodate the maximum number of colleagues on this statement, brevity in question and answer alike is essential.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Having faced rioters in Northern Ireland, I think that the fundamental problem was the route, which put thousands of potentially infiltrated marchers down Whitehall, with symbols of authority on both sides. It would have been much better to route the march to a public park—Southwark park or Hyde park—which I understand the National Union of Students wanted for the first march. Why are we not using snatch squads to take out the ringleaders before they can incite violence?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Tuesday 7th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

When considering the drugs fund, will the Secretary of State bear it in mind that many patients who have had chemotherapy find relief from using herbal medicine and acupuncture? When will he come forward with proposals to interface with next year’s European directive so that herbal and acupuncture practitioners can conform to the law?

[Mr Speaker]

I know that the Secretary of State’s response will relate to the cancer drugs fund.

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Thursday 3rd June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I remind the House that there is a statement to follow, and a heavily subscribed debate thereafter. If I am to have any chance of accommodating remaining Members, therefore, I need short questions and short answers.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend make further representations about the demonstration in Parliament square? The current demonstration is completely different from the one in the last Parliament. That focused on one individual, but this morning there were 20 tents in Parliament square. Does he think that this is a satisfactory situation?

Integrated Health Care

Debate between John Bercow and David Tredinnick

Wednesday 2nd June 2010 Commons Chamber

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

I count myself lucky to have secured this debate on the day that we have debated health matters in the Queen’s Speech, and to discuss integrated health care for the first time in this Parliament. I am fortunate to be—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I apologise for interrupting the hon. Gentleman. This has been a stimulating and, for many, a rewarding day, but if Members who are leaving the Chamber could please do so quickly and quietly, the House will benefit from the words of the hon. Gentleman.

[David Tredinnick]

I am flattered to have the Secretary of State for Health on the Front Bench, the shadow Secretary of State for Health on the Opposition Front Bench and, to my left, a former Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Mr Dorrell). It is perhaps pertinent that it was him—then the Member for Loughborough—who, as an Under-Secretary, first made it possible for GPs to refer patients to practitioners who were regarded as complementary and alternative, if they took clinical responsibility. That was the Conservative policy that he instituted way back in 1990.

This debate fits so well with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s determination that, in the words of Queen’s Speech,

“The voice of patients and the role of doctors will be strengthened”.—[Official Report, 25 May 2010; Vol. 510, c. 31.]

This evening I would like principally to address three related issues: the situation regarding homeopathy and homeopathic hospitals; the regulation of herbal medicine and acupuncture; and the consideration of other available models, particularly in Australia and the United States.

Let me start by welcoming my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary to her place. In a sense, this was an integrated health care general election, because the arch-opponent of anything to do with non-orthodox medicine, the former Member for Oxford West and Abingdon, was defeated and the gentleman who stood against me on an anti-alternative medicine ticket lost his deposit. That was because people are increasingly in favour of having alternatives in the health service. Indeed, 50% of the population have at some stage tried one form of integrated health care or another—acupuncture, herbal medicine or homeopathy—or a back treatment.

The Secretary of State’s proposal for an independent national health service board to allocate resources, provide commissioning guidance and allow GPs to commission services on behalf of patients is the ideal vehicle to give guidance. The first point that I would like to make to my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary is that the new board, when instituted, should offer guidance, through the primary care trusts, on what is available in the health service and stress why integrated health care is so important, for which I would suggest there are three principal reasons. First, people often turn to the alternatives when mainstream medicine has not succeeded. Secondly, conditions often fall into what is known as the effectiveness gap—that is, a category that conventional treatment is unable to help. Thirdly, people might not have benefited from conventional treatments or they might have experienced adverse effects owing to drug reactions.

Another important point, which fits the new coalition Government’s proposal for cost-effectiveness, is that the alternative disciplines—herbal medicine, aromatherapy, homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic—are very cost-effective. They are often cheaper than other treatments and, if used in conjunction with mainstream medicine, can be very effective in reducing the effects of heart disease, asthma, back pain and stress, for example. An integrated approach will offer my hon. Friend the Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State new weapons in the armoury of health care.

In the past few years, there has been a concerted attack on the homeopathic hospitals in this country, which go back to the formation of the health service, and on homeopathic treatments generally, on the ground that the science is weak and does not demonstrate that they are effective. This has manifested itself in bogus Department of Health circulars, in the fact that the British Medical Association’s conferences have tabled motions on the subject, and in the Science and Technology Committee’s recent highly controversial report claiming that homeopathy was a placebo.

The effect of that has been to reduce the number of referrals from primary care trusts in London, particularly to the Royal London Homeopathic hospital. The hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Glenda Jackson) took up that matter. In other parts of the country, pressure has been put on training. I encourage my hon. Friend the Minister to make a statement tonight that the Government are supportive of the homeopathic discipline, as they said they were before the general election.

The problem with the report that the Science and Technology Committee produced was that it did not take evidence from primary care trusts or from the Society of Homeopaths, and it ignored completely the evidence from abroad, which shows a greatly increased use of homeopathic treatments. For example, in France, homeopathy is taught in seven medical schools and practised by 25,000 doctors. In India, it is part of the health service. There are 180 colleges teaching homeopathy there, and more than 300,000 practitioners. Whatever the merits of the scientific research, the fact is that there are 500 doctors in Britain who choose to use homeopathic treatments as part of their work. Whatever the science says—whether it is proven or not—those people believe that homeopathy works, and that is important.

The costs involved are absolutely minimal. The cost per year to the national health service of homeopathic medicines is £152,000, out of a budget of £11 billion. Over the three years from 2005 to 2008, the hospitals themselves cost the nation £12 million—£4 million a year. These are very small costs, and we really need to take that on board. We must also recognise that there are new approvals coming on stream. At Sao Paolo university in Brazil, homeopathic treatments have been found to be effective in treating depression, instead of Prozac, and the university of Texas has shown the positive effect of homeopathic treatments in killing cancer cells while maintaining good cells. There is a lot to look at there, and the message should be that doctors who wish to use these therapies should do so and should be free to refer. If we can get that simple message across, we will have performed a great service. I am of course speaking to my hon. Friend on the Front Bench.

The regulation of herbal medicine and acupuncture is a crucial area. The previous Government spent for ever debating the matter and calling various professors to look into it. They asked for more and more information, and the final recommendations, produced by Professor Pitillo and Lord Chan, were that these areas should be regulated by the Health Professions Council so that there could be an interface with European legislation next year. However, the recommendation of the outgoing Government was that these matters should be regulated by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council instead. I think that that would be a mistake; I believe that we should go for stricter regulation. All the other disciplines could join the 3,000 now registered on the CNHC register. That would be the way forward. Certainly, all the organisations in the field—including the Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the European herbal medicine and acupuncture societies—want statutory regulation.

Finally, I turn to deal with what is happening in the rest of the world. I have already referred to the fact that we should take note of the widespread and increasing use of homeopathy in France—I did not mention Germany —and India, while we should also look at what is happening in Australia, which has been a leader. In Australia, according to Government reports, 50% of the population are now using herbal or complementary medicines. There are a number of colleges where these disciplines can be studied and a Complementary Medicine Evaluation committee has been set up; the Australians also have a Therapeutic Goods Administration committee. Herbal medicines are considered by the TGA of Australia to be

“reasonably safe with less adverse reactions than conventional pharmaceutical treatment”—

this is the big hint that we should look seriously at these treatments—and Sydney university has established the herbal medicines research and education centre

“to promote high-quality scholarship and research excellence in herbal medicines through teaching, research and international linkages.”

In fairness to the former Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), who has just left the Chamber, I should say that he introduced a number of surveys, through the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which was a welcome development. I think, however, that my hon. Friend the Minister could do more, and I hope that she will. The Australian institutions were given a lot of money. I am not suggesting that there is a lot of money around at the moment, but if Australia can provide $4 million to start up and get going its National Institute of Complementary Medicine, it is something that we should also consider doing.

The other country way ahead of us is the United States of America, which now has a National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine. It is one of 27 institutes that make up the National Institute of Health in the US and it is statutorily regulated. The mission is to explore

“complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science… train complementary and alternative medicine researchers and… disseminate authoritative information to the public and professionals.”

It conducts research using scientific methods and advanced technologies to study CAM. I believe that we should follow that model.

During my time in the House, I have had the honour to chair and be an officer of the parliamentary group for integrated and complementary healthcare and the old parliamentary group for alternative and complementary medicine. Over a period of more than 20 years, we have seen these disciplines come in from out of the cold to complement and augment the wonderful work of our national health service. With our very liberal approach to empowering doctors and to giving patients greater choices in what they want, we have a great opportunity to draw on the wonderful resources we now have vested in our homeopathic hospitals, which offer many other treatments besides homeopathy, and in our 20,000 to 30,000 practitioners out there in the field who can offer herbal medicine and acupuncture.

The Minister now has a great opportunity to grasp the nettle and complete the great work that was started when my right hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood—originally the Member for Loughborough—agreed that doctors taking clinical responsibility could refer to these practitioners. We need to move 20 years ahead, and complete this process with statutory regulation for herbalists and acupuncturists, proper referrals and an acceptance that our 500 homeopathic doctors can refer patients if they want to do so. If we do that, my hon. Friend the Minister will be well remembered in years to come.