Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what funds were allocated to research into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and its possible relationship with bovine spongiform encephalopathy over the period(a) 1986 to 1990, (b) 1990–91 to 1995–96 and (c) 199697. [28518]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorThe information is not all available in the form requested.
The Department of Health and the Medical Research Council's expenditure on research into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and its possible relationship with BSE is as follows:
£ million 1986–87 to 1987–88 1988–89 to 1989–90 1990–91 to 1995–96 1996–97 (estimated spend) Department of Health Nil Nil 1.7 2.3 MRC n/a 0.6 13.6 n/a 1 This figure includes an estimated spend of £700,000 for 1995–96, as the figure for this year has not yet been finalized. n/a = not available It is difficult to estimate the MRC's spend for 1996–97 because a forthcoming call for proposals in this area is likely to lead to increased spend in future years.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council also supports research related to CID, and over the period 1991–92 to 1997–98 it awarded grants to the value of £2.4 million.