Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase funding for research and innovation to improve cancer outcomes.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is one of the largest areas of spend at over £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

As well as funding cancer research, the Department also invests in centres of excellence, services and facilities to enable and delivery of cancer research in England. This includes NIHR funding for the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, a UK-wide network for delivery of early phase cancer trials, and NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centres, collaborations between world-leading universities and NHS organisations, bringing together academics and clinicians to do translational research, including for all cancer types. NIHR also works closely with industry to bring innovative research to the United Kingdom. This creates a strong portfolio of work reflecting the need for research and innovation to improve cancer outcomes.

Additionally, the Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals Programme have invested £21.5m to date for cancer research and innovation programmes, with their aim to maximise and direct global industrial investment for the development and acceleration of new cancer diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and devices in the UK through: providing research investments to support the development of innovations in the early stages of the development pathway; and supporting industry to accelerate cancer diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and devices in the latter stages of development into the National Health Service.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including all cancer types.