Oral Answers to Questions

Cheryl Gillan Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mike Freer. He is not here. We will take the last question on the condition that we have a reasonably short, single sentence supplementary, as I want to move on to the main business promptly today. If it is a long question, we will not bother.

[Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)]

I will do my best.

[Mr Speaker]

A single short sentence is required.

[Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)]

19. What steps his Department is taking to promote medical research.

[The Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (Joseph Johnson)]

This year the Medical Research Council will spend £655 million on world-class research. Our commitment to the future of the UK as a world leader in biomedical research is unwavering. For example, in November, Her Majesty the Queen opened the Francis Crick Institute, and we will continue to invest in this kind of excellence throughout this Parliament.

[Mrs Gillan]

Autism is the most expensive medical condition in the UK, costing the economy more than £32 billion a year, according to the London School of Economics, yet we spend hardly anything on autism research compared with what we spend on research into cancer, heart disease and stroke, which cost the economy less. What can the Minister do to encourage more spending on autism research, which is so vital to people in this country?

[Joseph Johnson]

Between 2010-11 and 2014-15, the MRC spent £13.3 million on autism research, and it always welcomes high-quality applications for support on any aspect of human health. Such applications are subject to peer review and are judged in open competition. The Department of Health, through the National Institute for Health Research, also funds research in this area, and the MRC’s centre for neurodevelopmental disorders at King’s College London opened recently, in November.