Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will appoint a named lead in the Department with a responsibility to support research and innovation for rare cancers.

There are no plans to appoint a named lead within the Department for this purpose as the Department supports research and innovation for rare cancers, and other conditions, through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department spends £1.6 billion each year on research through the NIHR, with cancer as one of the largest areas of investment, at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

The development and delivery of research for rare cancers is supported and enabled nationwide through the NIHR’s infrastructure, including the NIHR Research Delivery Network, the NIHR Clinical Research Facilities, the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, the NIHR HealthTech Research Centres, the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, and the newly designated NIHR Commercial Research Delivery Centres. These all support the delivery of clinical research through facilities, staff resource, collaborations, and funding.