Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 25 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 June 2026. It was answered by Preet Kaur Gill (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 June 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

ME/CFS: Research

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether current strategic prioritisation for ME research is proportionate to the disease burden.

Answer

The Department has not made a specific assessment of whether the strategic prioritisation for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), is proportionate to the disease burden. However, we recognise that this has been an under researched area and the Government is committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS.

The Government funds research into ME/CFS through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation. The NIHR and the MRC are working together to deliver the actions on research in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan. Two projects have recently received funding to investigate the feasibility of a new clinical trial that tests multiple interventions for the treatment of post-acute infection syndromes, including Long Covid and ME/CFS. In addition, £4.75 million of Government funding has been provided to SequenceME, which will create the first high-resolution genetic map of the condition, paving the way to future diagnostics and treatments.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
13300
Session
2026-27
Subjects
ME/CFS Finance Research
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk