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Dept of Health

Answer

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) Government and (b) non-Government spending on (i) all cancer research and (ii) breast cancer research in 2003-04; what proportion of the above is for cancer prevention; and if he will make a statement. [152513] Miss Melanie Johnson: In the NHS Cancer Plan, the government stated its commitment to increasing funds for cancer research so as to play a full part alongside its funding partners. We said that, by 2003, we would be investing an additional £20 million each year in the infrastructure for cancer research and an extra £4 million on prostate cancer research. This new funding would mean that, for the first time, Government (through the Department, the Higher Education Funding Council and the research councils) would match the current investment of the voluntary sector. In June 2002, we confirmed to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee that Government investment in cancer research had already reached the level of the charities. Nevertheless, we remain committed to investing the extra £24 million, as described in the Cancer Plan. The International Cancer Research Portfolio database at www.cancerportfolio.org contains details of projects supported by cancer research funding organisations in the United Kingdom and the United States. Data submitted by the National Cancer Research Institute includes the research portfolios of the 15 largest Government and charitable funders of cancer research in the UK where the research was active on 1 January 2003. The database can be searched by type of cancer, area of research (including prevention), and funding organisation.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

417 c1123-4W; 152513

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Breast cancer Cancer Finance Medicine Research

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk