The Government agrees that an increase in the level of research into brain tumours is crucial in order to achieve better outcomes for patients and their families.

The Department of Health funds research into all aspects of human health, including cancer and brain tumours, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) at the level of £1 billion per year.

NIHR cancer research expenditure has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £142 million in 2015/16. A significant element of this investment is in cancer research infrastructure. In September 2016 the Secretary of State for Health announced an £816 million investment in 20 NIHR Biomedical Research Centres for 5 years from April 2017. This funding includes the NIHR Royal Marsden/Institute of Cancer Research BRC which will focus exclusively on cancer research, and will receive £43 million over five years from April 2017. Five other BRCs will have dedicated cancer research themes. The funding amount for cancer research over 5 years across all BRCs is an estimated £131 million.

As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area, such as brain tumours, is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.

Last year we set up a Department of Health Task and Finish Working Group on Brain Tumour Research bringing together clinicians, charities, patients and officials to discuss how, working together with research funding partners, we can address the need to increase the level and impact of research into brain tumours.

The Working Group met in October 2016, and in January, May and July this year, chaired by Professor Chris Whitty, the Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser. The Working Group plans to report to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lords) in autumn 2017.

Department of Health