Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing in Scotland on funding for research into motor neurone disease.

Prior to the establishment of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in April 2006, the main part of the Department's total health research expenditure was devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. From April 2006 to March 2009, transitional research funding was allocated to these organisations at reducing levels. The organisations have accounted for their use of the allocations they have received from the Department in an annual research and development report. The reports identify total, aggregated expenditure on national priority areas but do not provide details of spend on research into specific diseases including motor neurone disease (MND).

Expenditure on MND research by the NIHR from 2009-10 through research programmes, research centres and units, and research fellowships is shown in the following table.

£ million

Total spend by the NIHR on MND research is higher than this because expenditure by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) on this topic cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health (Jeremy Hunt) has had no discussions on funding for MND research with the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.