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 support and fund clinical trials aimed at achieving licensing and NHS access for complex, cannabis-based medicines used in the treatment of severe, drug-resistant epilepsy in children.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is funding two trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy in both adults and children. Further detail on the trials can be found on the NIHR’s website, at the following link:

https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR131309

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with epilepsy, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for epilepsy.