§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of the budget of Manchester's Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre is allocated from central government funds; what consideration they have given to representations from Members of the House of Lords for increased public funding of the centre's research into cancer cures for the future; and what further action they are considering. [HL2023]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)Details of the total budget of the Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre are a matter for the centre and are not routinely reported to government. There is no direct National Health Service involvement in the funding of the Wolfson Centre. However, the centre has received funding from National Translational Cancer Research Network (NTRAC) Manchester to appoint three core posts, radiochemist, radiographer and a data analyst/ modeller. Further funding from NTRAC Manchester will be decided at local level. In 2002 the Department of Health announced that NTRAC nationally will receive £11.16 million over five years.
In addition, the North West Development Agency (NWDA) has provided £50,000 for consultancy fees towards the preparation of a business plan for the centre. The centre has submitted an application for funding which is currently in the NWDA appraisal system.
Major equipment for the centre is being provided via the Government's north-west science initiative, funded jointly by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The applicants Professor David Gordon (Manchester) and Dr Christopher Hall (Daresbury Laboratory) refer to this investment forming an institute for functional and molecular imaging (IFMI). Co-applicants include Professors Pat Price and Terry Jones, and researchers from Liverpool and Salford. Total investment is £5.7 million split equally between MRC and EPSRC. The applicants are also involved in an MRC e-science award of a little over £1 million and a MRC co-operative.