From April, the new National Institute for Health biomedical research unit will receive a share of the funding for dementia research which is expected to reach over £66 million by 2015.
Health Minister, Paul Burstow revealed the plans to Julian in answer to a written question on how funding under the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge would be allocated over the next three years.
Mr Burstow told him: “The combined value of the National Institute for Health Research, Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council funding for research into dementia will increase from £26.6. million in 2009-10 to an estimated £66.3 million in 2014-15.
“Expenditure on dementia research over the next three years will support a range of research activity.”
And he added that Cambridge University would benefit along with Newcastle University, the King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry and University College London.
These research units which include dementia themed research will share their considerable resources and world leading expertise to improve treatment and care, Mr Burstow added.
Julian said: “This is excellent news. I am delighted the government has made a strong commitment to dementia research and the fact that one of the research units is to be based in Cambridge is testament to the world class expertise we have in our city.”
In separate questions Julian also quizzed the government on its commitment to innovative brain scanning to detect early signs of the disease.
Julian raised his written questions with Science Minister, David Willetts who told him plans for the brain imaging programme were being developed by the long-term research study UK Biobank. They include a pilot with up to 8,000 volunteers which, if successful could be rolled out to up to 100,000 volunteers.
He said: “Proposals for the brain imaging programme are currently being developed by UK Biobank and will be subject to rigorous peer review. The precise scope of the study funded will be advised by this process and the views of the international experts involved.”
Mr Willetts also confirmed that the Medical Research Council spent £18.5 million on dementia research last year.
Later Julian said: “This disease has devastating effects not only for those affected but for their families.
“We cannot hope to find successful treatments and hopefully ultimately a cure for dementia without a high level of investment. I am particularly pleased to hear about the brain scanning pilot study. If we can find out more about the early stages of this disease and how it alters the brain, we have the chance to treat people before their illness has advanced to a point where they are severely debilitated. This has huge benefits for everyone.”
The full text of Julian’s questions and the responses are as follows:
Julian: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the £66 million of research funding outlined in the Prime Minister's Dementia Challenge will be allocated over the next three years;
what assessment he has made of the recent activity of the Prime Minister's Dementia Challenge's Better Research Champion Group; and how many times the group has met since 26 March 2012.
Paul Burstow: The combined value of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding for research into dementia will increase from £26.6. million in 2009-10 to an estimated £66.3 million in 2014-15.
Expenditure on dementia research over the next three years will support a range of research activity.
Four new NIHR biomedical research units in dementia are being funded from April:
| NHS organisation | University partner |
| Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | University of Cambridge |
| Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Newcastle University |
| South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust | King's College London Institute of Psychiatry |
| University College London Hospitals | University College London |
These research units and NIHR biomedical research centres which include dementia themed research will share their considerable resources and world leading expertise to improve treatment and care.
Projects will be funded resulting from the recent NIHR themed call in dementia. The participating programmes are:
Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation
Health Services Research
Health Technology Assessment
Programme Grants for Applied Research
Public Health Research
Research for Patient Benefit
Service Delivery and Organisation.
The ESRC and NIHR will be working together to support an initiative with up to £13 million funding available for social science research on dementia. The call for proposals will open in the week commencing 9 July and will fund national or international social science research in dementia which can make a significant contribution to scientific, economic and social impact.
Additional work will be supported by the funders depending on the volume and quality of applications received.
Three meetings of the Better Research Champion Group was held between June and December 2012 and the frequency of meetings will be reviewed thereafter. The first meeting was held on 8 June 2012 and brought together some of the world's leading dementia scientists to strengthen research co-ordination and engagement, spanning basic research and translational research. The group will address the challenge of co-ordination and engagement, focusing on the actions needed to strengthen partnerships between research funders, research charities, universities, national health service trusts, providers and the life science industry.
Julian: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Medical Research Council spent on dementia research in 2010-11.
David Willetts The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government supports medical and clinical research. In 2010/11 the MRC spent £18.5 million on dementia research.
Julian: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge Key Commitment number 10 what additional investment will be made in Biobank to support brain scanning for dementia research; how many scans will be offered to this group; and with what frequency.
David Willetts: The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia outlined plans for significant investment in dementia research over the coming years built around a set of specific commitments. Commitment 10 refers to more than doubling overall funding for dementia research to over £66 million by 2015.
Plans to deliver an initiative on brain scanning, building on the opportunities offered by the UK Biobank, are addressed under Commitment 11. This outlines a pilot study involving up to 8,000 volunteers, which if successful, would be rolled out to 50,000-100,000 volunteers.
The additional investment under Commitment 11 will be delivered via the Medical Research Council (MRC) and a funding decision will be announced later this year in partnership with the other UK Biobank partners. Proposals for the brain imaging programme are currently being developed by UK Biobank and will be subject to rigorous peer review. The precise scope of the study funded will be advised by this process and the views of the international experts involved.
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