Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission customised workshops for researchers that have taken place as of 19 December 2023.

In 2023, the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) hosted an essential research skills workshop series specifically designed for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals, in line with National Health Service ambitions to deliver a research-active clinical workforce. Workshops covered research proposal writing, study design and design appraisal, PPI, statistical methodologies, and research dissemination. Participants also benefited from expert-led consultations to receive tailored support for individual research. These five workshops and consultations took place between October and December 2023.

The Mission is further collaborating with The Brain Tumour Charity and researchers to advise and support any allied health professional seeking assistance in designing a robust study and submitting a high-quality research proposal.

The TJBCM held its first Brain Tumour Research Novel Therapeutics Accelerator Meeting, where it brought together a panel of world class experts to review three early-stage therapeutics and applications for brain cancer. The application deadline for interested applicants will close in January 2024.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research continues to work with the TJBCM and the research community to develop new workshops to further foster and develop research capacity in the brain cancer community to support an increase in quality, quantity, and diversity in brain cancer research in the United Kingdom. The aim is to deliver new workshops in the second half of 2024.