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Skin Cancer

Volume 455: debated on Monday 22 January 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding her Department provided for (a) skin cancer services and (b) research into skin cancer in each of the last 10 years; and what the planned funding is for the 2007-08 financial year. (113864)

Information on funding for cancer services is not available by cancer type.

We do not hold information centrally on levels of funding spent on cancer care for each of the last 10 years, however we do have information for the three years to 2005-06. £3.4 billion was spent on cancer care in 2003-04 and this increased by 12 per cent. each year to £3.8 billion in 2004-05 and £4.3 billion in 2005-06.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Innovation.

Available MRC expenditure on skin cancer research is shown in the table.

MRC Expenditure (£ million)

2000-01

1.3

2001-02

3.0

2002-03

1.75

2003-04

2.0

2004-05

10.8

1 The drop in expenditure In 2004-05 is largely due to several grants having ended before expenditure on new awards was incurred.

The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the NHS. Expenditure by the Department's national research programmes on projects related to skin cancer is shown in the table.

National Research Programmes Expenditure (£000)

1997-98

518

1998-99

828

1999-2000

577

2000-01

367

2001-02

139

2002-03

24

2003-04

18

2004-05

20

The main part of the Department’s research and development budget is allocated to, and managed by, organisations. These organisations account for their use of the allocations they receive from the Department in an annual research and development report. The reports identify total, aggregated expenditure on national priority areas, including cancer, however the returns do not identify research by cancer type. Details of individual projects supported in the NHS, including those concerned with site-specific cancers, can be found on the national research register at:

www.dh.gov.uk/research