Government funding for medical research is provided through (i) the Medical Research Council and (ii) the national health service research and development budget. Between 1997-98 and 2005-06 there has been (a) a 29.2 per cent. real terms increase and (b) a 56.8 per cent. cash increase in budget allocations.
1997-98 (£ million) 2005-06 (£ million) Cash terms (percentage) Real terms (percentage) Medical Research Council 289 504 74.4 43.7 NHS R and D 426 617 44.8 19.4 Net government funding 715 1,121 56.8 29.2
The Medical Research Council figures are the Science Budget Allocations from the Department for Trade and Industry. The NHS R and D budget figures have been provided by the Department of Health.