§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Department has spent on research into spinal cord injury since 1997; what efforts have been made with(a) his European counterparts and (b) the World Health Organisation to increase resources for the treatment of spinal cord injury; and what measures have been introduced to help people suffering from spinal cord injury. [51230]
§ Jacqui SmithSince 1997–98 we have spent around £5 million on research of relevance to spinal injuries. We also support a great deal of basic underpinning work on the structure and function of the nervous system; spend on this is not included in the figure above.
We have not been asking either the World Health Organisation or our European counterparts to increase resources for the treatment of spinal cord injury.
In February 2001 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that a national service framework would be developed for long-term conditions, and that this would have a particular focus on the needs of people with neurological disease and brain and spinal injury.