§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what public funding has been made available over the last three years for research into age-related disease; and what funding plans he has for the future. [186830]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC funds basic and clinical studies on health ageing and on the causes, prevention and treatment of a wide1356W range of conditions that affect the elderly in particular. Details of MRC expenditure in this area are shown in the table.
Amount (£ million) 2001–02 18.7 2002–03 27.9 2003–04 Not yet available The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national sealth service. Spend by the Department's national research programmes on projects specifically related to the health of older people is shown in the table.
Amount (£ million) 2001–02 1.7 2002–03 1.9 2003–04 1.9 In addition, the NHS reported spending £36.7 million in 2001–02 and £34 million in 2002–03 on research relating to older people from research and development support funding allocations. Information for 2003–04 is not yet available.
Each of these areas of research activity is ongoing.