§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, for each year his Department has sponsored research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathy,(a) the number of projects sponsored, (b) the resources committed to the research and (c) the number of publications arising from the research; and if he will place in the Library a list of titles of all published conferences, research papers, monographs and other 587W research reports on transmissible spongiform encephalopathy produced by or on behalf of his Department. [10627]
§ Mr. HoramThe Department of Health and the Scottish Office department of health jointly fund the national Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance unit in Edinburgh, which was set up in 1990. To date, expenditure on the unit has totalled some £1.4 million and future needs are being reviewed. The unit published an annual report, copies of which are available in the Library.
Since 1993, the Department of Health has spent £0.5 million on research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. A list of projects which have received funding from the Department of Health up to 16 January 1997 is shown in the table. A new strategy for research and development into the human health aspects of TSEs has been developed since March 1996. Details were published on 11 November and have been placed in the Library.
The directed programmes of relevant funders are being commissioned against the strategy, for which the Department of Health plans to make £9.5 million available over the next three years. A joint Medical Research Council-Department of Health call for proposals was advertised in the academic press in May 1996. Projects successful after shortlisting by the DH/MRC TSE research advisory group have been invited to submit full proposals, some of which have been approved and are on the point of being funded.
A list of Government publications on TSEs has been placed in the Library. All researchers are expected to publish the results of their work but, in view of the long time scale of TSE research, it may be some time before projects which are current or just getting under way will be in a position to publish.
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Research projects sponsored by the Department of Health (as at 16 January 1997) Project title Financial years covered Resources committed £ Autoclave decontamination standards for SE agents 1993–94 to 1995–96 339,886 Molecular genetic studies of the human prion protein gene 1995–96 to 1998–99 281,000 Strain characterisation of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by transmission to mice 1995–96 to 1998–99 62,757 Transmission of CJD to mice 1996–97 to 2000–01 890,868