§ Mr. Jon Owen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of government funding will be provided for medical research into epilepsy in 1993.
§ Dr. MawhinneyHealth Departments' recent research expenditure in this field amounts to some £70,000 on a number of projects, of which a small part is to be spent during 1993.
The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology under the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1991–92 the MRC spent £381,000 on research into epilepsy. The MRC is always willing to consider scientifically sound proposals for research in competition with other applications. Any change in the level of spending during subsequent years will depend on the nature of applications received.