Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on research into drug taking in sport in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [39323]
§ Mr. CabornUK Sport does not assign a specific budget for research activities into drug taking in the UK and therefore an exact amount is not identifiable. UK Sport's funding for the UK's anti-doping programme has been focused on delivering appropriate testing programmes for sport. However, UK Sport have provided funding for key projects, such as the Nandrolone review that was undertaken in 2000 and the development of the international working group on human growth hormone (hGH).
Independent research projects are also funded by other organisations in the UK and abroad. Examples include a programme of research on Nandrolone commissioned by UK Athletics, which was undertaken by Aberdeen University in 2000. The International Olympic Committee has also funded research at the Cologne Laboratory into Nandrolone.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is committed to increasing the volume of research dedicated to developing new and improved detection methods for the growing list of performance enhancing substances and methods. WADA currently provides US$5 million per year to further this research in five priority areas:
Compounds that aid oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, such as EPO;
Endogenous anabolic agents, such as testosterone;
Factors that regulate and increase growth, such as hGH;
Gene technology and performance enhancement; and
Other prohibited substances and methods.