Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many funding applications the National Institute of Health and Care Research received for brain tumour research on (a) diagnosis and screening and (b) drugs and treatment therapies in each of the last ten years; and how many of those applications secured funding.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.5 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24. Cancer is a major area of NIHR spend, reflecting its high priority.

Over the ten financial years from 2013/14 to 2023/24, the NIHR received 179 applications for brain tumour research in total. Of these:

• 54 were for research on diagnosis and screening, five of which were funded;
• 80 were for research on drugs and treatment, 11 of which were funded and one of which is still under consideration;
• 12 were for a combination of both categories of research, six of which were funded; and
• 32 were for other categories of research, five of which were funded.

The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including brain cancer. 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.

In September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients, and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation. Further information on these new research funding opportunities is available at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/new-funding-opportunities-novel-brain-tumour-research-launched