§ Dr. Summerskillasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is now satisfied that the amount of money being spent on research into kidney disease is adequate; and if he wil make a statement.
§ Mrs. ThatcherI have been asked to reply.
I am satisfied that a substantial effort is being made in elucidating the causes and effects of renal disorders and in improving methods of treatment. Five Medical Research Council establishments and two teams of workers directly supported by the Council are engaged in multi-disciplinary studies of direct relevance to kidney diseases and the Council are also co-ordinating clinical trials of drug therapy for the control of kidney disorders. In addition, the Medical Research Council, the University Grants Committee and the Health Departments are all supporting research projects in 427W the field within various university and hospital departments and further valuable support is given by the National Kidney Research Fund.