§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has conducted on the effect of air pollution on the incidence of hay fever; and what action she proposes to take.
§ Mr. SackvilleNone. The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The Government's Advisory Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution has invited two leading research workers, who are currently undertaking studies of the relationship between levels of air pollutants in London and symptoms among hay fever sufferers, to present information to them on this topic. The Department would ask the MRC to consider any research recommendations made by the Committee.
Also, the chairman of COMEAP has been instrumental in establishing a working group on the possible effects of air pollutants upon allergic diseases under the auspices of 29W the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Staff from the Department are participating in the work of this group and will contribute to its report.