Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the equity of the distribution of research and development spending for areas with poor health outcomes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah MP) on 9 May 2019 to Question 249283. Further to that answer, on 11 July 2019 the Government announced £135 million of funding to support National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs). The NIHR ARC scheme will support high-quality applied health and care research to make tangible improvements for patients, the public and to health and care services. NIHR ARCs will work with local partners and patients and the public from across the local communities they serve, and particularly with Academic Health Science Networks, to tackle local health and care priorities.