§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what sum was spent by her Department on research in each of the last 10 years; what percentage this was of the total annual budget; what is the budget for the forthcoming year; what percentage this is of her total budget; and what additional new research is to be undertaken.
§ Mr. MaloneThe sums spent on research and development by the Department of Health over the last 10 years were reported in the statistical supplement to the "Forward Look of Government-Funded Science, Engineering and Technology 1994", and earlier editions of the "Annual Review of Government Funded Research 617W and Development". These figures are set out in the table, together with the percentage of the total Department's spending represented by the research.
Year DH research spending (£ million) Percentage of total DH spending spent on research 1985–86 20.1 5.56 1986–87 28.8 7.40 1987–88 28.4 6.88 1988–89 33.7 8.04 1989–90 38.7 5.65 1990—91 47.0 6.83 1991–92 56.2 7.90 1992–93 53.0 6.86 1993–94 (estimate) 54.1 3.88 1994–95 (estimate) 50.1 3.14 These figures exclude spending on the national health service and on NHS research and development. The constituent parts of total departmental spending have changed over the last 10 years, making comparison difficult across different years.
Department of Health expenditure on research and development in the coming year has still to be determined, and will be reported in the statistical supplement to the 1995 forward look.
New and future Departmental strategic research initiatives within the Department's centrally commissioned programme include studies in primary care, mental health services, community health services, personal social services, public and environmental health, information technology, skill mix, effectiveness of purchasing models and prescribing.