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 increase clinical research activity in North Yorkshire.

The Department is committed to increasing clinical research activity across all parts of England, including North Yorkshire, to ensure patients have equitable access to opportunities to take part in research.

The Department invests in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which provides national infrastructure to support research delivery across the country. This includes the NIHR Research Delivery Network, which operates across England and is designed to increase capacity and capability for clinical research in all regions and settings, including primary, community, and rural areas.

To support participation in research across Yorkshire and Humber, including North Yorkshire, the NIHR funds the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Research Delivery Network and other research delivery infrastructure that helps National Health Service organisations, primary care providers, and other health and care settings deliver studies and offer more opportunities to participants. Together, these investments help increase research capacity and capability and provide more opportunities for patients and the public to take part in research closer to home.