§ Mr. Robert Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the proportion of Medical Research Council grants to Scottish universities, to English universities by planning regions and to Welsh universities, for each of the last five financial years;
(2) if he will publish in the Official Report the amount of Medical Research Council grants made available to each of the medical schools in Scotland and the percentages these represent of the total to medical schools in the United Kingdom, for each of the last five financial years.
§ Mr. William SheltonThe information in the form requested would be available only at disproportionate cost.
In the financial year 1981–82, total expenditure by the Medical Research Council on grants was £27.5 million, and the percentage allocation of this sum to research workers—mainly in universities, a number of which include schools or faculties of medicine—in Scotland, Wales, England—including a small number to Northern Ireland and overseas—was as follows:
Per cent. Scotland 12.5 Wales 1.6 England (and elsewhere) 85.9 I understand that this pattern of expenditure is unlikely to have differed markedly in the preceding four years.
§ Mr. Robert Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report what sums of money are disbursed by the Medical Research Council to support research in human reproduction and list the medical schools receiving such grants together with the individual amounts received, for each of the last five financial years.
§ Mr. William SheltonThe Medical Research Council is funding, both in its own establishments and through grants to university and other research workers, a wide programme of research on human reproduction. In 1980–81 the total cost of work relating directly to this area was £3.4 million; in addition, a considerable amount of more basic research, which could have a bearing on problems of human reproduction, also received council support. I shall send lists of these projects to the hon. Member. Similar information in respect of the preceding four years is not available without disproportionate cost.