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Mesothelioma

Question for Department of Health

UIN HL1503, tabled on 24 July 2014

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what correspondence they have received in 2014 from (1) Members of the House of Lords, and (2) Members of the House of Commons, concerning the establishment of a long-term scheme for mesothelioma research funded by the insurance industry.

Answered on

30 July 2014

In April this year, I convened a high level meeting between the Association of British Insurers and the British Lung Foundation (BLF) to discuss how insurers can remain engaged in support for mesothelioma research following earlier donated funding. Departmental officials attended this meeting. Discussions between the BLF and insurers are ongoing. The Department has no direct role in these discussions but is monitoring progress.

This year, a number of noble Lords and members of the House of Commons have written to the Secretary of State for Health, Mr Jeremy Hunt, or to me about this subject.

Any further funding made available by insurers for mesothelioma research will be in addition to existing sources of public funding. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has highlighted to the research community that it wants to encourage research applications in mesothelioma. Further details of this are available on the NIHR website at:

www.themedcalls.nihr.ac.uk/mesothelioma