§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the amount of money spent by the Government on research(a) based on the hypothesis that the only factor in BSE causation is prion protein transmitted via contaminated foodstuffs and (b) examining other possible hypotheses for BSE causation and other contributory factors. [39362]
§ Mr. RookerFunding on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) related research across all Government Departments is expected to be about £69 million during the three year period 1997–98 to 1999–2000. The national research effort is co-ordinated via the Joint TSE R&D Funders Co-ordination Group on whose figures this reply is based.
As the causative agents responsible for TSE diseases are unknown, most of the research programme makes no assumptions on this point, but rather tries to establish what the causative agents and associated factors are, how they may be identified, how they are transmitted, what is the pathogenesis of the disease caused, how many cases of each TSE disease will occur and over what timescale. Whatever the causative agent is eventually shown to be, the most robust epidemiological evidence to date indicates that the most significant route of transmission to cattle was via contaminated feed.
The following figures have been derived from information on TSE research funding across all Government departments. The majority of projects are not based on a single premise of cause; those which relate to identifiable causes, other than the prion hypothesis, or the investigation of causal and transmission mechanisms are included in these figures.
In 1997–98 alone the total Government spend on TSE research was estimated at £18.82 million of which £3.25 million involved investigation of causal and transmission mechanisms. The projected spend for 1998–99 is £23.27 million of which £3.23 million is so far allocated to this type of research.