Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 86003, if his Department will commission a specific comparative review, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, into the relative level of National Institute for Health and Care Research funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome compared with other long-term conditions.

The Department does not intend to commission a specific comparative review into the relative level of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) or Medical Research Council funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), compared with other long-term conditions. We recognise that ME/CFS is an under-researched area, and we are committed to working with the ME/CFS community to identify and address barriers to research, with the ambition of supporting and funding more research and capacity-building programmes.

As outlined in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan, there has historically been a relatively low amount of biomedical research funded on ME/CFS, compared with disease burden. Our efforts are focussed on delivering the actions outlined in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan to support and increase research in this area. Since our answer to Question 86003, we have hosted a showcase on post‑acute infection conditions, bringing together people with lived experience, researchers, clinicians, and funders to stimulate further research. A summary of this showcase has been published on NIHR Open Research. We have also made progress with our new funding opportunity for development awards focussed on the feasibility of a phase 2 platform clinical trial. This would test multiple repurposed pharmaceutical interventions and/or non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of post-viral conditions including ME/CFS. The committee will now consider the applications, and shortlisting decisions will be shared with the researchers in March.