Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to allow patients with HIV, where the virus is undetectable, to have access to medical trials for new cancer drugs and treatments.

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

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.

In 2024, the Department made equity, diversity, and inclusion a condition of funding for all domestic research awards funded through the NIHR. This means applicants must demonstrate how their research will contribute towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities, with a focus on participant inclusion from diverse populations of the United Kingdom. From March 2026, all NIHR applicants across all award types are required to design their research inclusively in order to receive NIHR funding.

The NIHR funds a broad portfolio of research on HIV including research on a range of health and care issues conducted with people living with HIV but not specifically about HIV. Between April 2020 and March 2025, the NIHR committed over £74 million on new research projects on HIV, including research on addressing barriers to healthcare access for people with HIV.

In addition, cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

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.