Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated from the public purse to coeliac research in 2016-17.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network provides the infrastructure that allows high-quality clinical research funded by charities, research funders and life-sciences industry to be delivered throughout the National Health Service. In 2016-17 Local Clinical Research Network expenditure related to coeliac disease was £315,503. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) supports research in response to high quality proposals from the research community but made no new awards directly relevant to coeliac disease in 2016/17.

It is not possible to provide a figure for planned funding. The NIHR and UKRI welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including coeliac disease; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.