§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 3 December 1993,Official Report, columns 799–800, what further research her Department has funded in response to the proposals for collecting data about children who were very low birthweight babies in the Audit Commission's report, "Children First".
§ Mr. SackvilleGovernment-funded research into neonatal intensive care and issues surrounding low birth weight continues to be carried out by the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In addition to the research work reported in my earlier reply to the hon. Member of 3 December,Official Report, columns 799–800, the national perinatal epidemiology unit is developing a full-scale project proposal on the detection of trends in morbidity and disability among seven-year-old children of different birth weights. The Department is also examining, through its public health information strategy a project to improve information on maternal and child health to support the Department's public health needs.