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 increase the speed at which clinical trials for medical research can be conducted.

This Government is committed to supporting a vibrant clinical research environment. We need to make clinical trials faster, more efficient and more innovative and we need to further develop digital tools and infrastructure to support clinical research. Crucially, we need to ensure that patients and the public are engaged and involved in clinical trials so that research meets their needs. The Department and the Office for Life Sciences are working to develop a vision which will realise these goals, liaising with a range of health and care stakeholders.

The Department, through the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network supports the set-up and timely delivery of commercial and non-commercial studies across England. This includes advice and support for study feasibility, streamlined National Health Service permissions and effective patient recruitment.