§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what investment he has put into(a) researching deafness and (b) treatments to restore hearing since 1997. [119560]
§ Dr. LadymanThe estimated expenditure on hearing research through the Medical Research Council for the last five years is shown in the table.
£ million Expenditure 1997–98 3.23 1998–99 3.49 1999–2000 3.34 2000–01 4.96 2001–02 3.94 In addition, since 1997, projects relating to hearing impairment totalling £1.87 million have been commissioned through the health technology assessment programme and the national research and development programme for people with physical and complex disabilities. Under the Department of Health's Policy Research Programme, a number of universal neonatal hearing screening pilots are in progress, with funding of £94,000.