§ Lord Turnbergasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the research and development budget for the National Health Service in each of the past five years; and what percentage of the total National Health Service budget these represented for each of these years. [HL709]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThe National Health Service expenditure on research and development in England in each of the past five years is given as follows, along with the percentages of total NHS expenditure in England that these figures represent.
1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 £426 million £420 million £434 million £449 million £475 million 1.23 percent 1.15 percent 1.09 per cent 1.02 per cent 0.96 per cent The research and development budget has increased in real terms by 1.5 per cent above inflation. The Government's aim is to ensure that there are enough resources to meet the NHS's need for research. This is underpinned by a drive to deliver high quality research and takes account of the activities of other funders of research in the NHS, which are the research councils, the universities and the medical research charities.