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City and Hackney PCT (Tuberculosis)

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her generosity in accepting my offer. I absolutely agree. It would be very helpful if she could write to me with the specific points that she feels have either not been satisfactorily answered or not answered at all. I am more than happy to meet her and her constituent. I thanked my hon. Friend for her generosity because she and her constituent have already waited a long time for answers. Although I am unable to give them at the Dispatch Box today, I certainly intend to try to do so in my meeting with her. When I acknowledge her questions, I should like to give her an indication of a reasonable time frame for me to find the answers and arrange a meeting. I am grateful to my hon. Friend and to the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster for participating in this debate about a vital public health issue. We have more or less eradicated the disease in the United Kingdom. Those of us with experience of TB, which struck down many members of my family, particularly on my father's side, know only too well how dreadful the disease is. We know that it is absolutely vital to have proper clinical understanding, science that informs the best treatment and services that deliver it to all sections of our community. I am grateful for the opportunity to confirm today both the Government's continuing commitment to achieving that aim and the arrangements that I shall make with my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney, North and Stoke Newington to pursue sensible answers on the case she raised. Question put and agreed to.