To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list those members serving on the Committee on the Review of Medicines when the herbal medicine Pegina was reviewed who have expertise in the pharmacy of plant materials;(2) what reasons the Committee on the Review of Medicines gave to him for their decision not to renew the licence for the sale of the herbal medicine Pegina.

The advice given by the Committee on the Review of Medicines is based upon corporate decisions for which the Committee as a whole takes responsibility, there was a member with expertise in the pharmacology of plant materials at the relevant time. We are unable to provide details about the review of the herbal product "Pegina" since section 118 of the Medicines Act 1968 generally prohibits disclosure of information obtained by the licensing authority in pursuance of the Act.