Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support healthcare professionals working in the NHS to continue to undertake research.

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) improves the health and wealth of the nation through research. Part of the NIHR is the Faculty.

The Faculty empowers and develops the NIHR community of research professionals, to improve the nation’s health, wellbeing and prosperity. The Faculty achieves this by creating a sense of common purpose and identity around shared values that cut across organisational and professional boundaries.

The NIHR Faculty comprises three categories of membership: Investigators (including Senior Investigators), Associates and Trainees. The Faculty encompasses research, clinical and support staff from all relevant professional backgrounds.

Since 2006 the NIHR:

― has made Senior Investigators awards to 338 individuals through nine competitions;

― has supported 10,593 unique trainees through fellowships and through the NIHR Infrastructure;

― has supported 5,920 unique Investigators through research contracts and the NIHR Infrastructure;

― has supported 2,355 unique Principal Investigators through research contracts;

― has supported 3,926 unique Investigators within the NIHR Infrastructure; and

― has supported 4,652 Associates in the NIHR Infrastructure.

The number of eligible clinical professional groups able to benefit from the training programmes targeted at allied health professionals and nurses has increased by 50% since 2006.