asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will introduce legislation to set out the criteria governing medical discretion over the switching off of life support systems in hospitals;(2) if he will bring forward legislation to provide that life support systems should not in future be switched off without prior consultation with the patient's relatives except in the most exceptional circumstances which should be strictly defined.
No. I do not consider that legislation on these matters would be appropriate. Criteria for the diagnosis of brain death were drawn up by the Conference of Royal Colleges and Faculties of the United Kingdom in 1976. These criteria were endorsed by the
| £ million | ||||||
| RHA | Estimated cost of increased VAT | Increase in allocation to offset extra cost | Cost of Clegg awards | Increase in allocation towards extra cost | Gain to Exchequer from additional VAT | Income tax revenue on increases |
| Northern | 2·4–2·7 | — | 2·6 | 2·3 | 2·4–2·7 | — |
| Yorkshire | 2·8–3·1 | — | 2·8 | 2·5 | 2·8–3·1 | — |
| Trent | 3·4–3·9 | — | 3·3 | 3·0 | 3·4–3·9 | — |
| East Anglia | 1·4–1·6 | — | 1·3 | 1·1 | 1·4–1·6 | — |
| North West Thames | 4·0–4·5 | — | 2·6 | 2·3 | 4·0–4·5 | — |
| North East Thames | 3·8–4·3 | — | 3·1 | 2·8 | 3·8–4·3 | — |
| South East Thames | 3·7–4·2 | — | 3·1 | 2·8 | 3·7–4·2 | — |
| South West Thames | 3·0–3·3 | — | 3·0 | 2·6 | 3·0–3·3 | — |
| Wessex | 2·0–2·2 | — | 1·8 | 1·7 | 2·0–2·2 | — |
| Oxford | 1·7–1·9 | — | 1·4 | 1·2 | 1·7–1·9 | — |
| South Western | 2·5–2·8 | — | 2·3 | 2·1 | 2·5–2·8 | — |
| West Midlands | 3·9–4·4 | — | 3·7 | 3·3 | 3·9–4·4 | — |
| Mersey | 2·1–2·4 | — | 2·1 | 1·9 | 2·1–2·4 | — |
| North Western | 3·3–3·7 | — | 3·2 | 2·9 | 3·3–3·7 | — |
| Total | 40·0–45·0 | Nil | 36·0 | 32·6 | 40·0–45·0 | Not available |
Standing Medical Advisory Committee, and on its advice were circulated by the chief medical officer to all hospital doctors in January 1978 for guidance in cases where consideration is being given to the switching off of mechanical ventilation. I would certainly expect parents or relatives to be kept fully informed other than in exceptional circumstances.