PC Health: Report on Study Tour to London

Meeting report

Committee Minutes
The Committee considered the following sets of minutes. Where minutes were amended, grammatical and spelling changes were made to it. The list of minutes were as follows:
30 January 2013 adopted as amended
20 February 2013 adopted unamended
13 and 14 March adopted unamanded
16 and 17 April adopted unamanded
8 May 2013 adopted unmamended
5 June 2013 adopted as amended
24 July 2013 adopted unamended
21 August 2013 adopted unamended
11 September 2013 adopted as amended
9, 11 and 17 October 2013 adopted unamended
10 October 2013 adopted as amended

Study Tour to London Committee Report
The Chairperson tabled the report for consideration.

The Committee Report on the Study Tour to London undertaken 2-9 December 2012 was adopted unamended.

Ms D Robinson (DA) raised two issues with the Committee. The first was about how the Committee communicated with the Department of Health. She had heard that the Minister of Health had launched an initiative which had only come to her attention after the fact. Members of Parliament should have more information than the general public. It was part of Members’ oversight function.

The Chairperson responded that the Committee had already made a recommendation in this regard. It was not the first time that the Committee asked the Department to keep it informed about its activities. The Committee needed to interact more with the Department’s Parliamentary Liaison Officer.

Ms T Kenye (ANC) stated that Members also needed information on when the Department was in their provinces so that they could interact with it.

The Chairperson suggested that the Committee formalise these suggestions and write a letter to the Department.

The Committee agreed.

The second issue that Ms Robinson wished to raise was that the Tobacco Institute of Britain had invited the Committee on a study tour. Had the Committee discussed the matter?

The Chairperson stated that the Committee had mentioned the issue in a previous meeting in which the Department had been present. Ms Robinson had perhaps not attended that specific meeting. The Department still owed the Committee its own regulations. The Committee was still awaiting it. He noted that in old law there was talk of sponsorships and other things that were illegal. Before the Committee could go to Britain it had to first obtain a report from the Department on its regulations.

The meeting was adjourned.