Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase funding into (a) the causes of and (b) treatments for Tourette’s syndrome.

NHS England’s e-Learning for Healthcare has produced modular online learning resources in relation to Tourette’s and other tic disorders within its neurodevelopmental disorder and healthy schools programme domains, which are freely accessible to all, including service providers.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on suspected neurological conditions, which includes recommendations on treatment for tics and involuntary movements in adults and children. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng127/

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and social care, including Tourette’s syndrome. 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 areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The NIHR has funded a number of research projects on Tourette’s syndrome. For example, the NIHR has funded the Online Remote Behavioural Treatment for Tics study to evaluate online behavioural interventions for children with tics and Tourette’s syndrome. Researchers at the NIHR’s Great Ormond Street Biomedical Research Centre are also supporting the TIC Genetics programme, which aims to identify the genetic factors that cause Tourette Syndrome using a family-based approach.