Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 16 June (HL761), what assessment they have made of the reasons why some HIV-positive patients have been told that they are ineligible for participation in cancer clinical trials.

The Department invests £1.8 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Whilst no assessment has been made of the reasons why HIV-patients have been told they are ineligible for participation in cancer trials, the Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with HIV, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials, and innovative, lifesaving treatments through the NIHR. The NIHR does not set participant eligibility criteria for individual clinical trials. These are determined by study sponsors and investigators, subject to regulatory and ethics approval.

The NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including HIV and cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.