Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to meet the target that 50 per cent of people taking part in clinical trials are teenagers and young adults by 2025.

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is committed to the involvement, engagement and participation of children and young people (CYP) in all relevant research, supporting researchers and funders, as well as empowering children and young people to lead their own journey with research.

The NIHR is working with NHS England, cancer charities, teenage and young adult cancer patients, and clinicians towards meeting this NHS Long Term Plan commitment relating to CYP with cancer.

The NIHR Clinical Research Network has held two summits. The first summit, held in 2017, developed a clear strategy. The second summit, held in April this year, focused on ensuring that the strategy’s objectives were still fit for purpose, and that the right stakeholders were engaged to ensure successful delivery. The NIHR Clinical Research Network is now funding a dedicated teenage and young adult cancer research nurse in each of its 15 Local Clinical Research Networks, with posts made available from 1 April 2019.