Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has commissioned on the efficacy of mindfulness-based therapies in the treatment of (a) stress, (b) depression and (c) other mental health conditions in the last five years; and which organisation conducted each such research project.

The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including mindfulness-based therapies for the treatment of mental health conditions. These 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.

The NIHR is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom and it has considerable investments in translational, clinical and applied mental health research. NIHR investment in mental health research for 2017/18 was £74.8 million. In the last five years the NIHR has funded a number of studies investigating mindfulness-based therapies for a range of mental health conditions across its research programmes, biomedical and applied research centres and research fellowships. These range from a trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with mild to moderate depression to a study which is evaluating the effects of mindfulness and connection with nature on chronic stress and well-being in deprived areas.

The attached table provides details of these studies, including which organisation conducted each project.