§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of people with work-related upper limb disorders; if she has commissioned any research into these disorders and their cause, or will be doing so; what medical advice she has about their cause; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department has no such estimates and would seek to be advised by the Department of Employment, to whom the hon. Member has addresed a similar question.
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 my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. We understand that the MRC is not currently supporting any research specifically into work-related upper limb disorders, but is always willing to 204W consider scientifically based sound proposals for research. The prospects for funding of research into work-related upper limb disorders will, therefore, depend on the nature of any applications received.
There is no medical consensus on whether work-related upper limb disorders are a single syndrome or a collection of differing conditions; nor is there general agreement on their cause or treatment.