Committee budget plea

The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee warned against a reduction in the budget for basic research in its report on the Cooksey review of health research funding this week.

In last year's Budget, the Government announced a proposal to allocate £1 billion for funding UK health research through a new single fund, combining the budgets of the Medical Research Council and the Department of Health. The committee said: "We expect the current combined budget for the MRC and the National Health Service research and development function to be at least maintained."