HL Deb 12 December 2001 vol 629 c213WA
Lord Alton of Liverpool

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to provide public funds to private companies involved in developing human embryonic stem cells for experimental and therapeutic purposes; and what account they will take of a company's intention to patent any results of such research for purposes of private profit. [HL1935]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

Government funding for stem cell research is primarily allocated by the research councils. The research councils do not normally allocate grants to private, for-profit companies. However, the Government announced in the Science and Innovation White Paper that targets would be set for participating departments to procure a proportion of their discretionary research and development expenditure from small and medium enterprises through the Small Business Research Initiative. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council are participating in the scheme. Applications have been invited but it is not yet known if any of this funding will be directed towards stem cell research.