§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent he has funded ante-natal research since 1979; if he will give any convenient figures for research into thalassaemia; and what assessment he has made of the saving that consequent improved diagnostic work has made in hospital time and expense.
§ Mr. DorrellI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Preston (Mrs. Wise) on 12 March 1991 at columns495–96 on the funding of ante-natal research.
The main agency through which the Department supports biomedical and clinical research in the United Kingdom is the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from the Department of Education and Science. I understand that a number of research projects into thalassaemia are currently being undertaken by the MRC.
There has been no assessment of the saving that consequent improved diagnostic work has made in hospital time and expense.