§ Mr. Goodladasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the latest progress in research into schizophrenia.
Mr. JacksonI understand from the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from the Department, that the Council's schizophrenia and allied conditions committee has recently reviewed the current state of research in this area. A report of the committee's findings, including recommendations for future research, will be published shortly.
In addition the Department of Health and Social Security is funding epidemiological research on morbidity and mortality in schizophrenia at the unit of clinical epidemiology, Oxford and is also supporting studies on community-based services for people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
§ Mr. Goodladasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much the Medical Research Council spent of its 1986–87 budget on research on (a) mental 256W health and (b) schizophrenia; and what percentage these figures represent of the Medical Research Council's total budget.
Mr. JacksonIt is for the Medical Research Council to determine its priorities from within the annual grant-in-aid which it receives from the Department's science budget. I understand that in the financial year 1986–87 the Medical Research Council spent £9.4 million, 8 per cent. of its overall budget, on research on mental health, including research on addiction. Out of its expenditure on mental health, the Council spent £506,000, 0.4 per cent. of its budget, on schizophrenia. The Council is also funding other work in which mental health and schizophrenia are minor components.