Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the promotion of research into child heath by (a) UK Research and Innovation and (b) UK higher educational institutions.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss a wide range of important issues.

The Department, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) invests in a wide range of research on children and families, including a new Children and Families Policy Research Unit which will start in January 2019.

Additionally, the NIHR’s Global Health Research Team has met twice this year with United Kingdom funders of research for International Development convened by the UK Collaborative on Development Research to discuss existing and future investment in reproductive, maternal and neonatal health research. Participants include the Department for International Development, Welcome Trust and UK Research and Innovation.