HC Deb 18 December 1995 vol 268 cc861-2W
Mr. Bayley

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much money the Medical Research Council has spent in each of the last 10 years and how much it estimates it will spend in the current year and each of the next three years on research(a) into the risk of transmission of the BSE agent from cattle to (i) humans and (ii) other primates, (b) into an early diagnostic test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and (c) effective treatment for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. [6187]

Mr. Ian Taylor

In 1994–95 the total spend by the MRC on research directly or indirectly related to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, including BSE, was £0.75 million. This included CJD related transmission studies to address the possible relationship between CJD and BSE in individuals who might potentially have been exposed to high levels of BSE because of their occupation. The corresponding figure for 1985–86 was £235,000. Data for the intervening years are not available. The major part of the MRC programme is funded in partnership with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council at the neuropathogenesis unit in Edinburgh.

Generally speaking, customers using card, token or key meters will receive a voucher which may be redeemed against the purchase of new cards or tokens or against the recharging of their keys. Those using smart cards will receive a direct credit to their cards. Those using coin meters will either receive a cheque or cash. Where cheques are given, these will he sent as soon as possible. Where cash is used, the customer will receive cash when the meter is next emptied.