§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in theOfficial Report expenditure by (a) the Medical Research Council and (b) any other Government funded projects into arthritis research in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.
Mr. JacksonI understand from the Medical Research Council that its expenditure on arthritis research was as follows:
Year £ millions 1982–83 0.9 1983–84 1.0 1984–85 1.1 1985–86 1.2 1986–87 1.3 Some support for arthritis research is also provided through UGC block grants to universities. Information on support for arthritis research by other Government Departments is not held centrally.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate how much expenditure there has been by charities and other voluntary bodies on arthritis research in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; and whether he takes this expenditure into account in allocating Government funding for such research.
Mr. JacksonI understand from the handbook of the Association of Medical Research Charities that support of arthritis research by the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council currently amounts to about £6 million a year. Support from the science budget for arthritis research is provided through the Medical Research Council which is responsible for determining its own priorities for the research supported from its annual grant in aid — currently £147 million.