§ Brian CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much is being spent by the Government into research on autism; [41462]
(2) what research the Department is conducting into autism which has an impact on policies on (a) respite care from the social services and (b) specialist speech therapy. [41464]
§ Jacqui SmithThe main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its funding via the Department of Trade and Industry. The MRC spend on autism research for 2000–01 was approximately £1.2 million. The MRC funds a large amount of work on the causes and treatment of autism, and to increase the knowledge base of issues surrounding autism. As part of this ongoing work the MRC has recently published a review of the current state of knowledge about the causes and epidemiology of autism. The MRC has also recently been given an extra £2.5 million by the Department to do further research into autism.
The Department funds research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in health and social care. The Department also provides national health service support funding for research commissioned by the research councils and charities that takes place in the NHS. Management of much of the research supported by NHS Research and Development Funding is devolved and expenditure at project level is not held centrally by the Department.
There are a number of research projects on autism for which the Department provides support costs. Details of these individual projects are available on the National Research Register (NRR), which can be accessed via the internet: http://www.doh.gov.uk/research/nrr.htm. The NRR shows that the Department supports a number of research projects on speech therapy and respite care although not specifically relating to autism.