Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what criteria his Department measures the value for money of applications for funding for research into Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which is funded by the Department, supports health and care research and translates discoveries into practical products, treatments, devices and procedures. The NIHR welcomes research funding applications into any aspect of human health, including complex regional pain syndrome.

The NIHR is committed to maximising the potential impact of research that it funds for patients and the public. Applications to NIHR for research funding are subject to scientific peer review, with awards being made on the basis of value for money, scientific quality and the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services.

Regarding value for money, the costs outlined in an NIHR funding application will be assessed in order to determine whether:

- The proposed costs of the research are reasonable and commensurate with the proposed work involved; and

- The costs to health and care services in supporting the research are reasonable in relation to the likely benefits of the research to decision-makers, patients and the public.

Ensuring that NIHR funded research is published in full is also a vital step in maximising the return on research investment.