Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of clinical trials available for brain cancer vaccines.

The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the Untied Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research, including clinical trials for brain cancer vaccines.

The NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is a platform set up to accelerate the development of cancer vaccines and speed up access to mRNA personalised cancer vaccine clinical trials for cancer patients. Any company that wishes to deliver trials via the platform, including those developing vaccines for brain tumours, can contact the CVLP to explore how the platform can support their research.

In addition, the Department funds research and research infrastructure across England, such as the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including on brain cancer.

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.