Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £50million ring-fenced funding for Motor-Neurone Disease research (a) has been and (b) is planned to be spent on researching interleukin 2 therapies for that disease.

The Government has committed to make at least £50 million available for motor neurone disease (MND) research over the next five years, ending in March 2027. In June 2023, the Government set out how £36.5 million of the £50 million pledged to MND research is now allocated to cutting-edge researchers. Research activities funded by the Department via the National Institute for Health and Care Research do not include research on interleukin 2 therapies for MND.

For the remainder of the £50 million, the Government is encouraging all researchers to apply for this funding via open call. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including research into therapies such as interleukin 2. NIHR does not ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.