CAB128-94_A1b — Page 201

ONFIDEN

CONFIDENTIAL

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1. The Cabinet were informed of the business to be taken in the House of Commons in the following week.

THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL said that there had been a good response in Parliament and in the media to the legislative programme announced in the Queen's Speech on the State Opening of Parliament. Although some press comment had suggested that the programme was less full than that in the two previous sessions of this Parliament, it remained a heavy one. Moreover,

unusually large number of Bills had early Royal Assent uirements attached to them. It remained important therefore resist firmly the temptation to add to Bills as they pressed through Parliament.

In brief discussion it was noted that the themes of enlarging cholde, enhancing the quality of life and improving the protection of the consumer reflected in the Gracious Speech had been well received. So too had the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer the previous week. It would be helpful if(these themes were emphasised in constituency speeches. of the Bills in the programme, that on Human Fertilisation ambryology, which was to be published later that day, would erate heated debate on the issues of research on embryos and abzon. When asked whether amendments about abortion would be oder under the Bill, the Secretary of

that the question whether such within the scope of the long title was a authorities.

State for Health had a amendments would far matter for the House

The Cabinet -

Took note.

DENTIA

2. THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEAL

Peaid

said that about 1,200

HOME AFFAIRS

aemophiliacs

ith HIV Infection

of them at a

haemophiliacs in the United Kingdom had been infected with human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) through the use of early commercial blood products (mainly American) which had been inadvertently contaminated with the virus time when the threat was not appreciated of poorly understood. This was a tragedy, but it had not been occasioned by negligence either on the part of the clinicians involved or on the part of the Government. Some six hundred of the haemopacs were suing the Department of Health and other agencies

Department was resisting the claim and would cont do so.

Nevertheless the position of the haemophiliacs concerned understandably attracted public and Parliamentary sympathy therefore proposed to increase substantially the funds available to the Macfarlane Trust, which had been set up to give he

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