HC Deb 12 March 1996 vol 273 c779
14. Mr. Booth

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds his Department grants to medical research. [18398]

Mr. Dorrell

Expenditure from my Department's budget devoted to research and development in 1995–96 is expected to total £454 million. As well as the centrally funded programmes of research, that includes NHS expenditure on research and research-related activities. We are currently implementing the recommendations of the Culyer report, which are designed to strengthen our commitment to research and development.

Mr. Booth

When will my right hon. Friend and the Government spend much more on the hundreds of thousands of children who suffer from autism? Does not that subject need more Government funds?

Mr. Dorrell

My hon. Friend is right to point to the importance of research and development to the future of mental health services. It is for exactly that reason that the directorate of research and development has said that it intends to use its increasing budget to commit extra resources to research and development in the broader field of mental health.