§ 16. Mr. W. Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of total medical research expenditure is incurred in Scotland; and to what extent this proportion has increased in the last 10 years.
§ Sir E. BoyleAbout 10½ per cent. of Government financial expenditure on medical research in 1963–64 was incurred in Scotland. The corresponding figure for the beginning of the decade 1954–64 is 9 per cent. These figures are approximate.
§ Mr. HamiltonDoes the right hon. Gentleman regard this trend as satisfactory? Is the proportion which Scotland is getting increasing satisfactorily, and, if not, can he say what the Government's policy is for improving and speeding up Scotland's share?
§ Sir E. BoyleConsidering Scotland's share of the population of the United Kingdom, I consider that both the absolute figures which I have quoted and the trend are reasonable.
§ Dr. Dickson MabonShould not the interests of medical education push aside these rather nationalistic issues and should we not concern ourselves with figures not related to population but to the distribution and output of medical schools and existing medical facilities, and should not the present Scottish proportion therefore be higher?
§ Sir E. BoyleIf the hon. Gentleman will put down a Question on medical schools, which is an issue rather wider than that in the original Question, we will try to answer it.