To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department last issued a press release with monthly vCJD statistics; when he next expects to update the figures on his Department’s website; what the reasons are for the time taken to release vCJD statistics; and if he will make a statement. (222313)

The final monthly press release of vCJD statistics was issued on 2 October 2007. The Department is no longer issuing these statistics because it duplicates the official statistics published by the National CJD Surveillance Unit. The Department’s website now refers users directly to the NCJDSU website at http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/, which contains the latest statistics, which are updated on a monthly basis.