§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government make choices in prioritising the allocation of its cancer research funding to tumour specific areas; and how needs-based access to these funds is ensured. [75746]
§ Ms BlearsThe total Government expenditure on research into individual diseases, including cancer and different types of cancer, is not normally specifically allocated in advance. Expenditure is related to many variables, such as the quality of research proposals received and the relevance to National Health Service priorities.
The Government supports health related research through three routes. The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is funded by the Department of Trade and Industry, is the main agency through which the Government supports research into the causes and treatment of disease including cancer. Some of the other research councils, especially the biotechnology and biological sciences research council, also fund relevant research.
The Department and its equivalents in the devolved administrations meet the NHS support costs of the research councils' and charities' projects. The Department also funds research into policy development and the delivery of effective practice in health and social care. The higher education funding council for England and its equivalents in the devolved administrations fund the university academic base.
Access to all these different forms of funding is by various means, with the mechanism depending on the nature and purpose of the research funding stream involved. The Government set up the national cancer research institute (NCRI) in April 2001, in partnership with the charities and the pharmaceutical industry. The NCRI is providing strategic oversight of cancer research across the United Kingdom. This will help to ensure that the nation's total investment in cancer research is directed to best effect.