§ 4. Ann McKechin (Glasgow, Maryhill) (Lab)If he will make a statement on his Department's funding of medical research. [169826]
§ The Secretary of State for Health (Dr. John Reid)We are making an additional £25 million available for medical research each year for the next four years. That increase of £100 million by 2007–08 will help to increase the total Government budget for medical research from £lbillion a year to £1.2 billion a year by 2007–08.
I can tell the House that Birmingham Women's health care trust has won the bid to run the new £1.8 million genetics education and development centre, which will help to educate NHS staff about haw they can use the latest genetic knowledge and techniques in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of common diseases, such as breast cancer.
§ Ann McKechinMy right hon. Friend will be aware that there is a great deal of interest in gene therapy research, as it could provide a treatment not only for common diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, but for inherited conditions, such as muscular dystrophy. I understand that the Department has recently announced a funding package for further research in that area. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that research institutes throughout the United Kingdom, not just in London, will benefit from that new funding?
§ Dr. ReidI can indeed confirm that. As my hon. Friend suggests, I recently announced another £4 million to support research into gene therapy in the United Kingdom—an area of scientific research where I can say with all due modesty and not the least complacency that this country is playing a leading role at the cutting edge, to the benefit of patients here as well as throughout the world. I can also confirm—my hon. Friend will be particularly pleased to hear this—that the beneficiaries of that £4 million grant include Dr. Linda Scobie of the university of Glasgow, who received £450,000 for very important research on the safety of retroviral vectors.
§ Mrs. Marion Roe (Broxbourne) (Con)Does the Secretary of State accept that the provisions of the Human Tissue Bill and the European Community clinical trials directive seriously undermine the increase in medical research funding that was announced in the Budget?
§ Dr. ReidIt is rather churlish of the hon. Lady not to accept that, when we announce an additional £200 million for scientific research, it in no way undermines the value of research that is conducted in this country for patients. On the Human Tissue Bill, we are responsible to the people of this country for ensuring that what happened in Alder Hey and other areas never happens again. People's bodies belong to them; we own our bodies and all their parts. We must therefore not presume but seek consent. If there are difficulties, we will listen—as we are currently listening—to an array of interested parties, including researchers, to ensure that the benefits from future research are balanced by the rights of individuals over their bodies.
§ Miss Anne Begg (Aberdeen, South) (Lab)I thank my right hon. Friend for the announcement of money for gene therapy. However, I emphasise that embryonic stem cell research is also important. The first licences have been issued and I look to the Secretary of State to promise that some of the money that is set aside for medical research will go into that area, which is so important, especially for people with neurological conditions.
§ Dr. ReidI thank my hon. Friend for her comments. The subject is important and has potentially enormous benefits. We should be proud that the United Kingdom, with effectively 1 per cent. of the world's population, funds 4.5 per cent. of the world's science and produces 8 per cent. of the world's scientific publications and 9 per cent. of the world's citations. We maintain such a position only by continually making the resources available to the ingenuity, application and determination of the scientific community in this country. The ultimate benefit is to those who suffer from some of the diseases and illnesses that my hon. Friend mentioned and knows only too well. We shall continue to do all we can to alleviate that pain and distress.
§ Mr. Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)How much are the Department and the Food Standards Agency spending on research into the 1197 carcinogen acrylamide, which appears in, for example, baked potatoes, chips, crisps and other food that is cooked at high temperatures?
§ Dr. Reid:I cannot give the hon. Gentleman a reply off the top of my head but I promise to write to him with the figures.