News & Events
Early Day Motion Raises MND Profile in Parliament
26 October 2006
A Motion calling for greater Government funding of research into MND has been tabled in Parliament by MND Association President Lembit Öpik MP.He presented the Early Day Motion (EDM) on Tuesday 24 October as part of the MND Association’s ongoing campaign to persuade Government to invest more money into MND research.
The EDM states: “That the House recognises that Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a rapidly progressing and fatal disease of the central nervous system that affects 5,000 people at any one time in the UK; congratulates the Motor Neurone Disease Association on the work it does to support those affected by the disease and its efforts to find a cure, but notes that between 1999 and 2004, for every £337,000 the Government spent on research per diagnosed case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, it invested a mere £108 in research per diagnosed case of MND; and calls on the Government to contribute towards the goal of a world free of MND by ring-fencing £7.5 million from the existing medical research budget specifically for research into the causes of MND.”
Though EDMs are rarely debated on the floor of the House, they remain open for signature during the parliamentary session and can be used to gauge political support and generate further publicity.
More than 75 Backbench MPs have already signed a statement supporting the MND Association’s campaign, and a recent meeting with Health Minister, Andy Burnham MP, resulted in his declaration that he was “seized” of the need to do something positive for people with MND.
The Health Minister will address a reception in Parliament on Wednesday 1 November, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on MND. The meeting will offer MPs and Peers the opportunity to learn more about the disease and to better understand the need for increased Government funding into MND research.
