Associate Parliamentary Health Group

This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.

This article is part of the Pharma_Portal project of Spinwatch.

The Associate Parliamentary Health Group (APHG) is according to its website "an all-party parliamentary subject group dedicated to disseminating knowledge, generating debate and facilitating engagement with health issues amongst Members of Parliament. APHG comprises members of all political parties, provides information with balance and impartiality, focuses on local as well as national matters, and is recognised as one of the preferred sources of information on health in Parliament.

The APHG was launched in November 2001, following discussions and with Ministers of Government, the Department of Health, the NHS Executive, and senior Parliamentarians, on the basis that Members of Parliament need as much high quality and impartial information as possible to fulfil their crucial role in the UK's health programme."

Funding

A March 2010 article in the Financial Times provided a critique of All-Party groups for "taking money from private companies regularly without any obligation to declare how the funds are used". It singled out the Associate Parliamentary Health Group, which it said:

receives £168,000 a year in “associate membership fees” from 26 health-related and pharmaceutical companies. These include AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. The money helps to fund “extensive online facilities”, including an exclusive database of localised health data, which is available to MPs and paying associate member companies.

Secretariat

The secretariat and other administrative services to the APHG was supplied by Networking for Industry (NFI) a not for profit organisation.

According to Companies House, NFI's name was changed to Policy Connect in December 2007. Policy Connect's group manager, Sally Percy holds a parliamentary pass.

Sponsors

The register in September 2010 disclosed that a £7000 associate membership fee received from each of the following: Sanofi-Pasteur, Grunenthall, Alliance Boots, Novo Nordisk, Takeda, Bristol Myers Squibb (registered July 2010) and from Abbott Laboratories, WCI, Sanofi Aventis (registered August 2010).

People

Parliamentary Officers as at July 2015

• Chair Kevin Barron- Labour
• Treasurer Lord Phil Hunt - Labour
• Co-Chair Baroness Julia Cumberlege - Conservative Party
• Co-Chair Susan Cunliffe-Lister (Baroness Masham of Ilton) - Crossbench
• Co-Chair Helen Whately - Conservative Party
• Co-Chair Maria Caulfield - Conservative Party

Parliamentary Officers as at 30 March 2015

• Baroness Julia Cumberlege. Also vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy
• Susan Cunliffe-Lister (Baroness Masham of Ilton) - Co-chair of the APHG.
• Kevin Barron - MP for Rother Valley and co-chair of the APHG.
• Paul Burstow - MP for Sutton and Cheam and a parliamentary co-chair of the APHG.
• Neil Carmichael - MP for Stroud, he has been co-chair of the APHG since his election.
• Sarah Champion - MP for Rotherham and has been a co-chair of the APHG since 2013.
• Andrew George - MP for St Ives. He is a member of the Health Select Committee and a parliamentary co-chair of the APHG.
• Lord Phil Hunt - a Labour Peer, he is also chair of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and is treasurer of the APHG.
• Robert Jenrick MP
• Sarah Wollaston

Members as at 30 March 2015

• Sir David Amess - Conservative Party
• John Baron - Conservative Party
• Dr Julian Huppert - Liberal Democrats
• Dr Daniel Poulter - Conservative Party
• Baroness Trixie Gardner - Conservative Party
• Mark Simmonds - Conservative Party
• Lord Simon Arthur - Conservative Party
• Louise Ellman - Labour
• Lord Toby Harris - Labour
• Barry Sheerman - Labour
• Dame Anne Begg - Labour
• Lord David John Ramsbotham - Crossbencher
• Baroness Ilora Finlay of Llandaff - Crossbencher
• Baron John Walton of Detchant - Crossbencher
• Peter Dowd - Labour
• Kate Osamor - Labour Co-Operative
• Baroness Walsmley - Liberal Democrats

Advisory Panel 2015

• Sir John Tooke
• Jeremy Taylor
• Professor David Taylor
• Lord Toby Harris
• Barry Sheerman MP. Sheerman is chair and founding member of Networking for Industry
• Chris Hopson
• Lynda Hamlyn
• Professor Chris Ham
• Duncan Eaton
• Bernard Dunkley
• Jennifer Dixon
• Lord Crisp
• David Colin-Thome
• Professor Sir Cyril Chantler
• Dr Peter Carter
• Anna Bradley

APHG Life President

Bernard Dunkley

• APHG Life President
• Active in the Pharmaceuticals Industry for 37 years
• Former national field sales manager for Lederle Laboratories
• UK and Government Affairs Director for Lederle and Wyeth Laboratories UK

=Registered benefits received by group as at September 2015

As stated in the Register of All-Party Groups: (Registered July 2015) £3,500 from Rideout's Law | £,7000 from Jannsen Cilag | £7,000 from Sanofi Pasteur MSD Ltd | £,7000 from Pfizer UK | £7,000 from Merck Sharpe & Dohme | £7,000 from Novartis UK | £7,000 from Grunenthal UK | £1,750 from Rideout's Law

(Registered August 2015) £4,200 from Rideouts Solicitors | £8,400 from Total Mobile (Registered September 2015) £8,400 from Serco Group | £8,400 from Napp Pharmaceuticals | £2,100 from Ridouts Solicitors

Associate members

An Associate Parliamentary Group also allows voting rights to persons in addition to Members of the House of Commons or Lords who are part of the group (unlike an All-Party Parliamentary Group which restricts voting rights to only Members).

Associate Members 2015

• Nutricia | Alliance Boots | Merck, Sharp and Dohme | Ridouts Law | Abbvie Ltd | Ascribe Ltd | Grunenthal Ltd | Janssen Cilag Ltd | NAPP Ltd | Novartis Ltd | Optum Ltd | Xograph Healthcare Ltd | Map of Medicine | Sanofi Pasteur MSD | Bristol-Myers Squibb Ltd

Previous Associate Members

• Abbott laboratories | Alliance Boots | Astra Zeneca | Bristol Myers Squibb Company | BT | BUPA | CIT | IBM | Kimberley Clark Professional | GlaxoSmithKline | Pfizer | SanofiAventis | Schering Plough | Wyeth

. Administration of the Register