§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what Government funding is being provided and what other steps are being taken by the Government to enable pursuit of the research programme recommended in chapter 17 of the report of the national task force on myalgic encephalomyelitis published in September 1994.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is 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. The MRC has been funding a study at the Institute of Psychiatry, the estimated cost of which is £91,000, to investigate chronic fatigue in general practitioners' attenders. Researchers at the institute are attempting to find ways to help sufferers of chronic fatigue cope with their disease and regain their health.
With a view to securing progress and promoting the development of a professional consensus, the chief medical officer has invited the conference of colleges to consider the national task force's report. The views of the conference of colleges will be of much assistance to the Department in helping to determine the best way forward. It is hoped that a response from the conference will be received by the spring.