Spending Review: Research boost must include investment in charity-funded science

A welcome boost for research and development was announced in today's Spending Review, but we await further clarity as to how this will support charity-funded research. 

The Chancellor also announced funding for the NHS, while spending on public health will be maintained at current levels. 

Ahead of the Spending Review, we called on the Government to prioritise investment in life saving research, public health funding and the NHS – three areas that are vital for ensuring transformational new treatments for patients, better prevention of heart and circulatory diseases, and access to vital care. 

Boost to research and development 

In recognition of the importance of science at this critical time, the Chancellor has committed £14.6bn to research and development across several departments. Of this, £11.1bn will go to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which funds most Government research - a rise of £740m since last year.  Whether charity-funded research will benefit from this remains unclear. 

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive said: “A spending boost for research and development was rightly prioritised in today’s Spending Review, but this must include a commitment to support charity-funded research. 

“The coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on charities and put powerful scientific breakthroughs under threat. The BHF funds more than half of the UK’s independent research into heart and circulatory diseases, but we have had to halve our research budget this year. 
 
“Investing in charity-funded research would ensure patients have access to the most innovative treatments and cures for decades to come. This would preserve the future of life saving discoveries, fuel our economic recovery and cement the UK’s position as a global science superpower.” 

£3bn extra funding for the NHS 

An extra £3bn for the NHS is welcome and will help relieve some of the unsustainable pressure on the service at a critical time when it is still dealing with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

The pandemic has caused widespread disruption for heart and circulatory disease patients, with appointments postponed or cancelled, and worries around burdening the NHS or developing Covid-19 preventing people from seeking the care they need.   

This has resulted in an enormous backlog of treatments and procedures, which may lead to patients with heart and circulatory disease becoming more unwell, and more deaths. 

However, before the pandemic began, the NHS was already in need of a significant cash injection to meet its target of preventing 150,000 strokes, heart attacks and dementia cases over the next decade, including for infrastructure and workforce, as outlined in the Long Term Plan.  

Although the Government has recommitted to core funding for the NHS of £6.3bn this year, a further long-term increase in funding will be needed for the NHS to continue to address a growing backlog in care, meet increasing demand for services and fulfil ambitions to improve outcomes for heart and circulatory disease patients in the long term. 

An implementation plan is also vital to spell out how the £3bn is best used to ensure care can be maintained throughout winter and the finite specialist skills and resources of the NHS can be maximised to treat the increased number of patients in need. 

No public health funding boost 

Public health funding will be maintained at current levels, and the Government has said it will set out further significant action that it is taking to improve the population’s health in the coming months. 

After years of cuts, we believe the Government has missed an opportunity to restore and increase the Public Health Grant, which could provide stretched local authorities with the resources they need to support the health of their populations, such as the provision of weight management services. 

Pound for pound, analysis has shown that funding public health provides a return on investment by creating a healthier and more resilient population, helping to lessen pressure on the NHS in the long term.   

The importance of a healthy population is clearer than ever this year, particularly considering the growing understanding of the links between Covid-19 and heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, particularly obesity. This more severely impacts people from the most deprived areas of the UK, as well as those from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds – widening existing health inequalities. 

To ensure the Government can meet its ambition to “level up” the country, we are calling for this issue to be re-examined thoroughly as plans for the reorganisation of Public Health England progress. 

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