PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Brain: Tumours (10 July 2023)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £40 million allocated in 2018 for brain tumour research over five years has been disbursed to fund that research as of July 2023; and when he plans to allocate the remaining funds.

Asked by:
Navendu Mishra (Labour)

The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since the 2018 announcement, NIHR has committed £10.7 million spend across 13 brain tumour research studies. All applications to NIHR that have been assessed as “fundable” in open competition have been funded, and this will continue.

Additionally, NIHR research infrastructure supports brain tumour research studies, mainly in the NHS. This infrastructure – people and facilities – is instrumental to the delivery of research funded by the NIHR, charities and others. Resource costs are significant, though it is difficult to disaggregate purely brain tumour spending to add to the £10.7 million figure above.

The Government is committed to funding high-quality brain cancer research, and we expect to spend more as new research progresses. The £40 million funding announcement will remain available, and if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do so.

Answered by:
Will Quince (Conservative)
13 July 2023