Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase funding for research on mental health.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom, through the Department. The NIHR spent £93.4 million on mental health research in 2019/20. While it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, the NIHR’s funding is available through open competition and it encourages researchers to submit applications, including for mental health research.