Chancellor appoints Sir David Cooksey to lead health research review

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, today announced that he has appointed Sir David Cooksey to lead a review to build agreement on the best institutional arrangements for the new single fund for health research announced in the Budget. Sir David will report back in time for the Pre-Budget Report later this year. The review will report to the Chancellor and to the Secretaries of State for Health and Trade and Industry.

Sir David will advise on the best design and institutional arrangements for public funding of health research in the UK, following a wide-ranging consultation with those involved in health research, in order to support the Government’s health, science and economic objectives in this area.

Gordon Brown said:

“Medical science will continue to be key to Britain’s economic success and improved health in the 21st century. That is why I have asked Sir David Cooksey to consider the best arrangements for delivering the full spectrum of publicly-supported health research, from the Nobel-winning research conducted by the MRC to the NHS’s world-renowned work on Health Technology Assessment.

“America has its pathbreaking National Institutes of Health – we will now build agreement on the right design and institutional arrangements for a British model.”

Patricia Hewitt said:

“I want to make the UK one of the best places in the world for medical and health research. This review builds on the new NHS R&D Strategy, Best Research for Best Health, launched early this year. Sir David is ideally placed to lead this review and I look forward to working with him to agree the best arrangements for delivering research, which is so important to both the health and economy of the UK.”

Alan Johnson said:

“The UK’s record in supporting world-class medical research through the MRC is second to none. Developments in science can be found in every aspect of our daily lives including breakthroughs on ageing and drug research. The DTI is committed to ensuring that science and innovation are at the heart of government, and that we maintain the UK’s leading position in medical research. In line with the Chancellor’s Budget speech, we will build on the outstanding achievements of the MRC and ensure we are facilitating the research base in the best possible way. I look forward to seeing the results of this review.”

Sir David Cooksey said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed by the Chancellor to lead this Review. I intend to work closely with all stakeholders in my work, from those involved in the UK’s world-leading work on ‘basic’ medical research to the health professionals working on applied health research on the front line of the NHS.”

Notes to editors

1. In Budget 2006, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a single budget for health research for the Medical Research Council and the NHS R&D Programme, jointly-held by the Secretaries of State for Health and Trade and Industry and worth at least £1 billion per annum.

2. The combined spending of the MRC and NHS R&D in 2007/08 is expected to be £1.3 billion. The Review will examine whether the totality of that £1.3 billion spend, plus any increase arising from the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, should be included in the single budget, or whether there is a case for retaining some element of that budget within the control of the individual Departments.

3. Sir David Cooksey, 65, has worked in venture capital fund management since 1981 when he founded Advent Venture Partners. His numerous roles across Government, industry and voluntary sectors have included chairing the Committee of Non-Executive Directors of the Bank of England and the Audit Commission, and being a Governor of the Wellcome Trust. Since 2004 he has been Chairman of the Joint Healthcare Research Delivery Group which coordinates the work of the MRC and the Department of Health R&D function. He is also Chairman of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration Industry Reference Group.

4. The terms of reference for the Review are:

To advise on the best design and institutional arrangements for public funding of health research in the UK, taking account of:

health objectives – ensuring research priorities are firmly grounded in the Government’s wider health objectives, national and international, and that health research is rooted in, and a key priority for, the NHS;
science objectives – ensuring the continued delivery of world class basic science, according to the long-standing Haldane principle which states that day-to-day decisions on Research Council scientific funding must be taken at arms length from ministers. Funding should continue to be awarded on the basis of excellence across the full spectrum of health research, from basic to clinical and public health. This will include continued support for investigator-led research; and
economic objectives – ensuring the delivery of high-quality translational health research to deliver real economic, as well as health, benefits, from the UK’s excellent science base.

The review will particularly take into account:

the decision announced in Budget 2006 to create a single research fund of at least £1 billion, jointly-held by the Secretaries of State for Health and Trade & Industry;
the aim of building on recent reforms, including the creation of MRC Technology and the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC), and the new NHS R&D Strategy set out in Best Research for Best Health;
the need to maintain and build on the UK’s world-leading position in producing peer-reviewed, scientist-led ‘basic’ medical research and innovation in clinical research;
the priorities and needs of the NHS, ensuring health R&D generates improvements in health outcomes, and building on successful applied research programmes, such as the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme and MRC Technology;
the views of, and linkages with key stakeholders, including the NHS and universities, the health industries, research charities and the Devolved Administrations;
economic evidence on any market failures that impinge on the development of innovative and clinically and cost effective medicines and new technologies; and
evidence on what has worked well and what less well in other countries, particularly with regard to effective strategies for translating world-class basic research into demonstrable economic and health benefits.

5. Sir David Cooksey will launch the formal consultation process for the review during spring 2006.

6. Media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury Press Office on 020 7270 5238.

7. Non-media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury Correspondence and Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4558 or by e-mail to public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk.

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