HC Deb 28 July 1988 vol 138 cc537-8W
Mr. Cran

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current level of Government funding for research into the epidemiology of leukaemia; and what have been the comparable figures over the previous five years.

Mrs. Currie

In 1986–87 (the latest year for which figures are available) the Department spent £2.7 million on directly commissioned cancer research. I regret that comparable information for the previous five years is not readily available. It is not possible separately to identify expenditure on research into the epidemiology of leukaemia, but the Department's programme contains the following:

  • —A programme of research at the Childhood Cancer Research Group, Oxford.
  • —Studies arising from the report on the investigation of the possible increased incidence of leukaemia in west Cumbria.
  • —A case control study of childhood leukaemia and other cancers in the West Berkshire and Basingstoke, and the North Hampshire district health authorities. The Medical Research Council, the main Government agency for medical research in the United Kingdom, which receives its grant-in-aid from the Department of Education and Science, supports a considerable amount of research into the epidemiology of leukaemia.

Mr. Cran

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services which cancer registries and research organisations are involved in the research into the epidemiology of leukaemia; what form the co-ordination between them will take; and what will be the rôle of the Government's Chief Medical Officer.

Mrs. Currie

A large number of organisations including the cancer registries, Medical Research Council, Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, medical research charities, and the Health Departments are involved in epidemiological research and the analysis of statistics on leukaemia. These activities are brought together in the United Kingdom Co-ordinating Committee on Cancer Research (UKCCCR) which also fulfils a co-ordinating role between the governmental and charitable organisations that fund research into leukaemia and other cancers.

A medically qualified official from the Department attends the UKCCCR on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer.