Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 78821, whether additional resources have been allocated to research on (a) Giloma, (b) Glioblastoma, (c) Astrocytoma, (d) DIPG and (e) DMG brain tumour types in the last year.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner on 10 November 2025 to Question 78821. As investment for cancer research is calculated retrospectively, with a time lag due to annual reporting cycles, 2024/25 is the most recent year that we have detailed data for by cancer type.

The Department invests almost £1.8 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

As announced in the National Cancer Plan, investment in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, co-funding of the Cancer Research UK Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence, and other direct programmatic spend through NIHR funding streams totals a combined investment of £32.3 million since July 2024, and a total of £45.2 million since 2018, all of which is designed to accelerate brain cancer research. In addition, the NIHR’s wider investments in research infrastructure, including research centres, which run studies, facilities and services, and the research workforce, leverages research funding from other donors and organisations. These NIHR investments in infrastructure are estimated to be £44.5 million over the period 2018/19 to 2024/25, enabling 298 brain tumour research studies to take place.

As part of this funding, the NIHR announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children, and their families, who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer. Progress will be monitored through approved NIHR contract management processes over the period of the award contracts, which range from five to 10 years.

We continue to support researchers to develop and submit applications to the most appropriate programmes. The NIHR Research Support Service provides free, expert advice and support to applied health, public health, and social care researchers on the design and delivery of research and the development of research funding applications.

The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas in advance. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including all cancer types.