Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to provide funding for research into the (a) prevention and (b) treatment of arthritis and musculoskeletal disease in UK universities.

The Government does not generally ringfence funding for particular areas of research but has funded a significant amount of applicant-led funding on arthritis and musculoskeletal disease.

In 2024, UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) committed over £17 million to research on these topics, including over £4 million for the University of Oxford, within UKRI’s £28.5 million Functional Genomics Initiative, to establish a research cluster focused on the use of functional genomics techniques to improve musculoskeletal health and disease.

UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of research with wider relevance, including in immunology and pain relief, and plays a key role in funding underpinning discovery research.