Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of funding for research into lung disease; and if he will make a statement.

Expenditure on respiratory disease research by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has increased by over two thirds from £15.7 million in 2009/10 to £26.7 million in 2015/16 (the latest available figure).

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including lung disease. These 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. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.