§ Mr. CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department is undertaking to assess the effects of noise-induced hearing loss on natural hearing deterioration through aging. [67479]
§ Mr. HuttonNone. The Department funds research and development to support its work on policy development and evaluation in health and social care. The Department also manages the National Health Service research and development levy which is used to support research and development of relevance to the National Health Service in hospitals, general practice and other health care settings, and to fund the NHS research and development programme. In addition, the Medical Research Council (MRC)—which receives most of its income via grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology in the Department of Trade and Industry—funds medical research as part of the Government's funding of the science and engineering base. The MRC also funds basic research including the study of molecules and cells, genetics and infections and immunity (£158 millions per annum) which will inform research in this area.
Details of projects directly funded by the Department or supported through the NHS research and development levy can be found on the National Research Register (NRR). This is available in the Library and most medical libraries on CD Rom, and on the Internet: http://www.doh.gov.uk/nrr.htm. The NRR also contains many details of projects/trials funded by the MRC and other funders.