PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Cancer: Research (31 January 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has provided for research into (a) prevention and (b) the treatment of cancer in each of the last 12 years.

Asked by:
Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23.

When categorising prevention and treatment, the Department and NIHR uses the Health Research Classification System (HRCS) Health Category coding, which was developed by the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Partners and was designed to produce a broad strategic overview of health research funding.

The NIHR have funded 127 projects on cancer prevention for the period April 2012 to date with a combined total funding value of approximately £90.3 million:

F/Y	Funded projects	Funding Amount
2012/13	7	£3,735,044
2013/14	8	£2,858,223
2014/15	16	£7,281,782
2015/16	12	£9,206,926
2016/17	8	£3,503,717
2017/18	26	£25,467,753
2018/19	8	£5,428,968
2019/20	10	£12,099,536
2020/21	8	£4,346,694
2021/22	12	£8,892,741
2022/23	12	£7,529,430
total	127	£90,350,814

The NIHR have funded 685 projects on cancer treatment for the period April 2012 to date with a combined total funding value of approximately £302.4 million:

F/Y	Funded projects	Funding Amount
2012/13	56	£23,937,981
2013/14	44	£19,765,569
2014/15	53	£27,226,212
2015/16	54	£26,887,042
2016/17	70	£19,930,361
2017/18	62	£22,760,373
2018/19	52	£18,283,962
2019/20	66	£18,683,770
2020/21	76	£35,330,181
2021/22	90	£55,518,331
2022/23	62	£34,115,891
total	685	£302,439,673

The NIHR Infrastructure investment funds the world-class facilities, expertise, and skilled delivery workforce for research across the National Health Service and wider health and care system in England from early translational clinical research through to applied health and care research. It is difficult to attribute this funding to specific disease and therapy areas as the staff and facilities funded through the NIHR Infrastructure supports research across disciplines.

Answered by:
Andrew Stephenson (Conservative)
27 February 2024