Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to support (a) investigator-led and (b) commercially-sponsored clinical trials in blood cancer research.

The Department-funded National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical research on blood cancer.

NIHR infrastructure provides world-class research expertise, specialist facilities, a research delivery workforce, and support services, which all help to support and deliver research across the National Health Service and the wider health and care system.

The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of Lord O'Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials, making sure the United Kingdom is one of the best places in the world to conduct cutting-edge clinical research, including research into cancer.

The Department spends £1.5 billion per year on research through the NIHR. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was over £121.8 million for 2022/23, with more spent on cancer than any other disease group.