§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the available evidence about the medical background to repetitive strain injury.
§ Mr. SackvilleThere is no medical consensus on whether repetitive strain injury is a single syndrome or a collection of differing conditions; nor is there general agreement on its cause or treatment.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what medical research has been conducted by her Department into repetitive strain injury.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. I understand that the MRC is not currently supporting any research specifically into repetitive strain injury (RSI), but is always willing to consider scientifically based sound proposals for research. The prospects for funding of research into RSI will, therefore, depend on the nature of any applications received.