Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) research into heart and circulatory diseases and (b) UK research and development of the Association of Medical Research Charities' estimated £310 million decrease in charity-funded medical research as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Ministers in BEIS and officials have met regularly with the Association of Medical Research Charities and their members over the last months to discuss how charity-funded research can best be supported through the Government’s University Research Stabilisation Package.

Universities will?be asked?to demonstrate how these funds?are being utilised to sustain research in areas typically funded by charities and business, for example to protect areas of medical research that have been developed in part with support of charities. We continue to engage with the sector as the details of the package are developed further.