To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the decision of the National Care Standards Commission to de-register Desumo Information and Healthcare Ltd.; and what implications this has for its provision of single vaccine cover for measles, mumps and rubella in the South-West. [109030]

[holding answer 14 April 2003]: The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) registered Desumo on 22 April 2003. It had not de-registered Desumo prior to that. The NCSC processed Desumo's application as soon as it had obtained from the organisation sufficient information to enable it to be registered. In the meantime, the clinic had arranged for some vaccines to be administered by a national health service doctor, who was not required to be registered with the NCSC.