Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support higher education institutions with health research.

The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is the United Kingdom’s largest funder of health and care research training. NIHR delivers a comprehensive research career pathway, from internships and predoctoral fellowships through to research professorships, for the full range of clinical and non-clinical academics, providing the skilled research workforce in universities to lead research. The NIHR invests over £220 million each year in research training programmes.

Furthermore, the Department is working with the devolved administrations, other funders, and wider stakeholders to implement the recommendations from the recent Office for the Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research reports, to ensure there is a comprehensive, clear, and rewarding career pathway for clinical academics in health and care research. This includes the introduction of Clinical Future Leaders Fellowships, which will expand national support for clinical academic careers.

The Department, through the NIHR, invests in centres of excellence and collaborations, services, and facilities to enable and deliver research in England. Collectively these form the NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure helps to support and deliver research across the National Health Service and wider health and care system, including universities. The NIHR infrastructure supports patients and the public to participate in high quality research. The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

By investing in research across public health and social care, NIHR enables universities to address wider determinants of health, support independence, reduce inequalities, and inform local decision-making. Dedicated NIHR programmes and infrastructure work alongside Higher Education Institutions to conduct research in community, local authority, and other non-clinical settings, ensuring evidence is generated where it is most needed and can be translated into meaningful improvements in care and services.