§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to increase the allocation for research into the cause of cot deaths; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanThe main Government agency for the promotion of medical research is the Medical Research Council, which receives grant-in-aid from the Department of Education and Science. The MRC has funded a number of projects related to sudden infant deaths and respiratory distress in the newborn, details of which were given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Latham) on 20 February, at columns524–25. As a matter of urgency, we are discussing with the MRC what further avenues of research might next be most fruitfully pursued.