§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the advantages of use in the NHS of the Buteyko breathing method for the treatment of asthma; and if he will make a statement. [58265]
§ Mr. HuttonThe prevention and treatment of asthma are high priority topics within the Department's research programmes. We do not currently have any plans to carry out a trial of the Buteyko method. If a research proposal on it of sufficiently high scientific quality were submitted, in response to any future open calls for research in this540W area from the Departmental or National Health Service research and development programmes, such a proposal would be considered alongside all other competing bids.
A key agency through which the Government support bio-medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council, an independent body which receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology. The Council is not funding any research on the Buteyko method at present but it is always willing to consider for support soundly based new scientific proposals, in competition with other applications.