Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve research into (a) the causes of respiratory conditions and (b) the adoption of new medicines for respiratory conditions.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with respiratory conditions, have access to cutting-edge clinical research and innovative, lifesaving treatments. Between 2020/21 and 2025/26, the Department, through its research delivery arm the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has allocated £7.4 million for research into the causes of respiratory conditions and £33.5 million for studies on the adoption of new medicines for these conditions. The NIHR accepts applications across all areas of human health, including respiratory diseases. Further information on the NIHR’s work on respiratory conditions can be found at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/support-and-services/support-for-delivering-research/specialties-and-settings/specialties#tab-respiratory