Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department is undertaking on first episode psychosis and the long-term effect of anti-psychotic drugs.

The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom, investing £93.4 million in 2018/19.

Through this investment the NIHR supports a wide portfolio of mental health research, including 21 current awards funded directly through NIHR programmes for research on first-episode psychosis and the effects of anti-psychotic drugs and three new awards due to start in 2020/21 totalling an investment of £30.7 million in these important areas. The NIHR is also providing infrastructure support to over 50 studies through its biomedical research centres, clinical research facilities and applied research centres.