To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia there are in (a) England and (b) London. (72319)

The Department does not collect this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) received information on which aims to develop a cure for sickle cell anaemia; and if she will make a statement. (72320)

The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Innovation, part of the Department of Trade and Industry.

The MRCs current portfolio in this area includes a £1.25 million programme on inherited blood disorders; this includes sickle cell anaemia.

Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects, including a number concerned with sickle cell anaemia, are available on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.