§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made as to the impact on(a) children and (b) adults of being chronically exposed to loud noise. [60659]
§ Ms BlearsAs part of a joint programme with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health commissioned a research programme designed to study the non-auditory health effects of noise.
Five research projects were funded under this programme, three of which concentrated on the non-auditory effects of noise on children at school and in the home, one concentrated on the effects of occupational noise and the fifth concentrated on noise and insomnia.
The five projects have recently completed and reported, and the results of the research will be discussed with colleagues from other Departments later in the year.
Full details of the study are available on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/hef/airpol/ aipolh.htm.