Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating further funding for research into anti-epilepsy drugs.

The Department currently has no specific plans to make an assessment. However, the Department funds epilepsy research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including epilepsy. 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. From 2014/2015 to 2019/2020, the NIHR’s expenditure on epilepsy research was £11.4 million and UKRI, through the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, provided £42.9 million for such research.