§ Lord Eltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
For each of the last five years for which figures are available, how many deaths were recorded respectively in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as the result of (a) multiple sclerosis, (b) CJD, and (c) AIDS; what was the total amount of expenditure by the Government in the United Kingdom on research into the identification, treatment, prevention and cure of these diseases; and what were the criteria on which this expenditure was allocated. [HL4021]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathNumber of deaths
The figures for deaths from Multiple Sclerosis, CJD and AIDS in Northern Ireland and Wales are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.
Multiple Sclerosis
The following are numbers of deaths for England where the underlying cause of death was multiple sclerosis. (International Classification of Diseases code 340, Ninth revision.)
Deaths are for usual residents of England and do not include deaths of non-residents.
Year of death England 1995 638 1996 701 1997 660 1998 698 1999 721 CJD
The number of deaths for England over the last five years is*
76WA
Year England 1996 51 1997 67 1998 74 1999 63 2000 43 * confirmed and probable cases AIDS
The number of deaths for England over the last five years recorded by the Public Health Laboratory Service in England due to HIV/AIDS*
Year of death England 1996 1,236 1997 571 1998 419 1999 363 2000† 145 * Includes AIDS deaths and deaths without reported AIDS (in those known to be HIV infected). 1 Reported in the first two quarters of the year. Numbers, particularly for recent years, will rise as further reports are received. Research
The figures are (£ million):
Year Multiple Sclerosis1 TSEs [including CJDJ]2 AIDS3 1990–2000 £1.425m £31.5m £20.4m 1998–99 £0.77m £21.8m £16.2m 1997–98 £0.783m £16.2m £15.4m 1996–97 £0.172m £10.8m £19.5m 1995–96 £0.095m £10.0m £20.6m The Multiple Sclerosis (MS) figure includes spend on basic work on a whole range of autoimmune disease, one of which is MS.
The AIDS figure consists of the spend in both the UK and overseas and both basic and applied research in the area.
Criteria on which this expenditure was allocated:
Decisions on research expenditure in these areas were made on the basis of the priorities of the individual government department or research council involved in the three areas and in relation to the quality of research proposals received.
Footnote:
1. Department of Health and Medical Research Council (MRC) expenditure.
2. MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food), BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council), MRC, Department of Health expenditure including Scottish Office Contribution to Surveillance to CJD Unit.
3. Department of Health, Scottish Office, Welsh Office, MRC and other research councils.