Question reference: S6W-26413
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
- Date lodged: 22 March 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on funding commitments for the research priorities identified in the report of the James Lind Alliance's Priority Setting Partnership for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which was published in May 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to create specific funding commitments for the research priorities identified in the report of the JLA PSP on ME/CFS
Within the Scottish Government, funding of Health and Care Research comes under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).
The CSO's Translational Clinical Studies (TCS) Committee and Health Improvement, Protection and Services Research (HIPS) Committee each meet twice per year to consider funding applications. Details of the application process are published on the CSO website.
https://www.cso.sc ot.nhs.uk/grant-funding/response-mode-funding-schemes/
Applications on the underlying causes, diagnosis, treatment and management of ME/CFS are welcomed. Any such applications would go through CSO's standard independent expert review process to allow funding decisions to be made.
Through UK-wide funding agreements, researchers based in Scotland are able to access research funding programmes administered by the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR). Within their individual remits, these programmes can consider applications for research in ME/CFS. CSO is working with the health research community in Scotland to ensure awareness of these opportunities and to maximise the number of high quality applications from Scotland to the NIHR research funding programmes going forward.