HC Deb 18 December 1961 vol 651 cc119-20W
Mrs. Hart

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how much was spent on research into mental illness in the financial year 1960–61; and what proportion the amount so spent represented of the total national expenditure on the National Health Service.

Mr. Denzil Freeth

The Medical Research Council spent approximately £228,000 on mental health research in 1960–61. Considerable research is also undertaken in university departments and teaching hospitals, supported from block grants by the University Grants Committee, as well as within the National Health Service in the normal course of treating patients, but I cannot give a reliable estimate of expenditure from these sources. There is also research supported by voluntary organisations: an example is the Mental Health Research Fund which spent over £29,000 in 1960–61.

As it is impossible to give a total figure for expenditure on mental health research, I cannot calculate this as a percentage of expenditure on the National Health Service, but the cost of the research supported by the Medical Research Council in 1960–61 represented 4.7 per cent. of its total expenditure.

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