ARTHRITIS CARE

Early day motion 979, tabled 19 April 2004 by Roger Berry (Labour). Signed by 192 members.

That this House congratulates the charity Arthritis Care on its publication of the OA National report describing the many debilitating features of osteoarthritis, which affects 8.5 million people in the UK; is aware that a further 500,000 people have other forms of arthritis and that arthritis costs the UK economy over ú18 billion a year in lost working days; is concerned that, despite the scale of the problem, arthritis is not even included in the recently-published GP Contract; and calls on the Government to develop a UK-wide strategy for dealing with the disease.

Signatures by party: Labour 101, Conservative 37, Liberal Democrat 30, Labour/Co-operative 11, DUP 4, Plaid Cymru 3, UUP 3, Independent Conservative 1, Scottish National Party 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.