Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase funding for cardiovascular disease research.

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The Department, through the NIHR, funds research into cardiovascular disease (CVD) that is aligned with the Government’s Health Mission, embracing digital transformation, prioritising prevention over treatment, and bringing care closer to communities to tackle health inequalities and reduce the number of lives lost to the biggest killers.

For example, in 2025 the NIHR launched a new funding opportunity to invest £50 million into innovative new research in CVD, aiming to tackle preventable causes of heart disease and its complications, save lives, and reduce inequalities in this area across the United Kingdom.

In addition, our wider investments in NIHR infrastructure, strengthening specialist facilities, the workforce, and support services to enable research in the health and care system, have enabled significant CVD funded by other funders to take place.

The NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including CVD. 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 the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.