Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on neurological sciences in each of the last five years.

The Department funds research into neurological sciences through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The following table shows expenditure by the NIHR on research into neurological sciences in each year since 2017/18.

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

£56 million £56.1 million £54 million £40 million £56.6 million

The NIHR’s usual practice is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. Research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available and the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neurological sciences. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.