§ Mr. David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will commission research into the causes and treatment of arachnoiditis; and if he will make a statement. [116107]
§ Ms HewittThe Government fund health and medical research mainly through the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Department of Health.
The MRC has a broad remit which covers all areas of research relating to human health. Although the MRC do not fund research specifically into the treatment of arachnoiditis, the MRC are funding research on one of the causes of arachnoiditis, meningitis. In 1998–99 the MRC spent about £525,000 on research of direct relevance to the cause and treatment of meningitis.