§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much he has spent or allocated for research into bovine spongiform encephalopathy from 1985 to 1992; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. JacksonBovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was first diagnosed in November 1986. No funds were allocated specifically for research on it prior to that date. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy belongs to a family of diseases called the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies which include scrapie in sheep. The main United Kingdom centre of research on scrapie and related diseases is the neuropathogenesis unit in Edinburgh which is jointly run by the Agricultural and Food Research Council's institute for animal health and the Medical Research Council. The following table gives the science budget funding allocated by the Agricultural and Food Research Council to the institute for animal health for work on scrapie and related diseases since 1985.
392W
£'000s (cash) 1985–86 584 1986–87 805 1987–88 742 1988–89 702 1989–90 950 1990–91 1,500 1991–92 1 2,950 1 The figure for 1991–92 is an estimate based on planning figures. University departments, with support from University Funding Council block grants, may be undertaking research on bovine spongiform encephalopathy, but information on this is not collected centrally.