Brain Tumours

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Monday 24th April 2023 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the scale of research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours.

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

My Lords, I am hugely grateful to the noble Lord for bringing this challenge to my attention and pay tribute to the work that he does on the APPG. We are working closely with research partners. I am pleased to say that more research is being funded, as we continue to encourage more researchers to become involved in what remains a challenging scientific area with a relatively small research community. I am confident that the Government’s continued commitment to funding will help us make progress towards effective treatment.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, this is a devastating disease and I welcome the Government’s doubling of the £20 million grant for research to £40 million in memory of my late friend Baroness Jowell. Unfortunately, of that £40 million, I understand that only about £8.8 million has so far been allocated. Can the Minister assure me that that £40 million fund will be ring-fenced purely for brain tumour research? Secondly, will the National Institute for Health and Care Research give proper feedback to researchers who have had their projects rejected so that they can resubmit their applications with more hope of success?