Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department makes available to fund research into (a) Stargardt disease and (b) other inherited retinal diseases; and if he will make a statement.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) supports research in response to proposals from the research community and welcomes high-quality applications for support into any aspect of human health, including Stargardt’s disease and other inherited retinal diseases.

In the last five years the NIHR directly funded three studies related to Stargardt’s disease for a total of £1.87 million. Six further studies on Stargardt’s disease were additionally supported by the NIHR through Central Commissioning Facility-managed and Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centre infrastructure.