§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to increase the resources available for AIDS research.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThe Government have had urgent discussions with the Medical Research Council on immediate and longer-term aspects of research into Aids. The MRC requested an increase in its grant-in-aid of £1 million a year for work that can be put in hand straightaway, and we have agreed. This money will enable a range of projects to go ahead, including a new laboratory at the National Institute for Medical Research; various epidemiological studies; and research into vaccines and chemotherapy. The Government will be considering further with the MRC and others how the overall research 665W effort against AIDS in this country can best be carried forward and co-ordinated, and related to that going on in other countries.