Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support research into Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease and (b) ensure that UK research does not fall behind well-funded programmes in other countries.

The Department funds research through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since 2002, the Department has made over £43 million of funding available for research and surveillance of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and prion diseases.

The Department is working closely with NHS England on future funding for CJD diagnostic services. The Department also works closely with the Medical Research Council (MRC) to align funding for priority research, and has met specifically with the MRC Prion Unit recently.

Both the NIHR and the MRC welcome research proposals on all aspects of human health, including CJD and prion disease. Research applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.