HC Deb 05 February 1980 vol 978 cc175-6W
Mr. Dubs

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much money his Department has made available for research into eczema, in each of the last five financial years.

Sir George Young

The main Government-funded body supporting research into eczema is the Medical Research Council from funds provided by the Department of Education and Science and the Health Departments. Expenditure during the last three financial years was as follows:

1976–77 £127,000
1977–78 £165,000
1978–79 £190,000

I regret that is is not possible to give figures prior to 1976–77 because the coun-

Sir George Young

It is not possible to answer the question in the precise form requested because of lack of information for 1970 and problems of coverage and comparability. The earliest year for which a realistic comparison of the staff groups in question can be made is 1971; the latest year for which comparable information is available is 1978. The table below sets out the information for 1971, 1974 and 1978.

cil's records do not provide them in sufficient detail.

Expenditure on research into diseases of the skin, including the above figures but also covering other work not specifically on but with a relevance to eczema, was:

1976–77 £315,000
1977–78 £323,000
1978–79 £363,000

Other research supported by Government funds is also conducted in the universities and hospital medical schools but the details are not recorded centrally and are not available.