§ Mr. Bellinghamasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what level of grant aid the Medical Research Council makes available to Moorfields eye 628W hospital and the Institution of Ophthalmology for the purposes of research into the inherited eye disease, retinitis pigmentosa; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenI understand that in the financial year 1984–85 the Medical Research Council spent £74,000 on research into the inherited eye disease retinitis pigmentosa, at the Moorfields eye hospital institute of ophthalmology. The council's overall expenditure in the same financial year on research into this disease amounted to £197,000. The Medical Research Council is always willing to consider soundly based scientific proposals in competition with other applications.