To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to fund elsewhere in the UK research initiatives similar to the Translational Research Centre of Excellence for Neuromuscular Diseases in London. (141447)

I have been asked to reply.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is the main body through which the UK Government support initiatives similar to the Translational Research Centre of Excellence. The MRC currently funds 21 such centres, including six new translational centres last year, and will continue to support centres of excellence in priority areas. MRC has set aside this year's funding for centres in lifelong health and ageing.