§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money was provided by his Department for research into the links between pollution and human health (i) each year from 1979–89 and (ii) in the current financial year.
Mr. Jackson[holding answer 3 July 19891: The Medical Research Council, which receives grant-in-aid from this Department, is the main agency through which the Government support medical research. Since 1979–90, the council has spent the following amounts on research into links between pollution and human health, covering research on chemical and physical hazards, sound and vibration, and radiation.
Year £ million 1979–80 4.3 1980–81 5.8 1981–82 6.1 1982–83 5.8 1983–84 6.1 1984–85 5.5 1985–86 5.4 1986–87 5.2 1987–88 5.3 Figures for 1988–89 and 1989–90 are not yet available.
A small element of the research carried out by the Natural Environment Research Council is also relevant to links between pollution and human health. It is estimated that over the last 10 years £0.3 million of money provided by this Department has been spent on such work.
Additionally, university departments and medical schools support a range of research from block grants from the Universities Funding Council, some of which may be relevant to links between pollution and human health.