§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will commission research on the relationship between the incidence of asthma and the number of undiagnosed thyroid sufferers; and if she will make a statement. [30265]
§ Mr. SackvilleI have no plans to commission such research at this time. However, within the Department's centrally commissioned research programme there is a range of projects under way and in planning of relevance to respiratory diseases and especially asthma, with a total estimated value of over £125,000. The Medical Research Council is also funding a large amount of work on asthma, concentrating mainly on the fundamental mechanisms underlying the disease, and some 14 projects supported by grants and work at MRC units are currently under way. In 1993–94, the latest year for which figures are available, the MRC spent £919,000 on research into asthma and a further £1,000,000 on research which may be relevant to the condition.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many asthma sufferers are estimated to live in each London borough. [30738]
§ Mr. SackvilleThis information is not available centrally. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 14 March 1995,Official Report, column 553, for the available information.