Autumn Budget 2026: Calling for a fairer approach to health research funding

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Yorkshire Cancer Research is uniting with universities, healthcare organisations, researchers and people affected by cancer to call for a fairer approach to health research funding.

The charity is urging the Chancellor to increase the proportion of research and development funding allocated to the Department of Health and Social Care and ensure it is distributed more evenly across the country. This forms part of the charity’s wider mission to help give people in Yorkshire an equal chance to benefit from life-saving cancer research, regardless of where they live. 

Later this month, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey will deliver his first Budget, described by him as an opportunity to move power and money into every region.  

The Government has repeatedly emphasised its ambition to spread opportunities for growth more evenly across the country and strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in health research. Just last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the Government will transfer some research and development funding from Westminster into the regions to give local leaders the power to invest in innovation in their areas.

Health research can help people live longer, healthier, cancer-free lives. It gives them access to cutting-edge clinical trials and treatments, improves how cancer is prevented and diagnosed, and helps ensure the latest breakthroughs reach people sooner.  

Studies even show that, for certain types of cancer, people are more likely to survive when treated in hospitals with higher levels of health research activity. 

Health research also delivers significant benefits for the economy. For every £1 invested in medical research, around 25p is returned to the UK economy every year. Not only does investment in health research save and improve lives, it creates high-skilled jobs, attracts further investment and helps people stay well and in work.  

For Yorkshire, greater investment in health research could help strengthen the region's economy, ensures researchers can build their careers in the region and support Prime Minister Andy Burnham's ambition to reduce inequalities between the North and the South. 

Catherine Weaver, PHD student at the University of Sheffield and Yorkshire Cancer Research fellow said: “After finishing my master’s degree, I was living in Leeds and found it difficult to find research roles in the North. I started to think I would have to move down south to pursue a career in cancer research, so finding an opportunity funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research at the University of Sheffield meant a great deal to me. 

Despite being home to 10% of the England population, Yorkshire receives just 6% of health research funding in 2022. By contrast, London received 37% of health research funding yet represents 16% of the England population. This is equivalent to £101 per person in London compared to just £25 in Yorkshire.  

When less research funding is invested in a region, there are often fewer opportunities to conduct large-scale research projects, bring research into local hospitals and communities, and give people the chance to take part. As a result, many of the people and communities who stand to benefit most from research miss out on access to pioneering research studies and the latest advances in cancer treatment. 

John Hallatt, a Yorkshire Cancer Research Kidney Screening Trial participant from Leeds said: “When I was told a lump had been detected on my kidney, it came as a real shock. Luckily, as the scan found the tumour early, I was able to have a new type of procedure which successfully destroyed the cancer cells.

“I’m a member of the medical equipment delivery team at St James’s University Hospital, so I see wonderful treatments – like the one I received myself - happening on the oncology ward all the time. That’s thanks to research.” 

While the Government has committed to increasing the total spending on research and development across a range of sectors between 2025 and 2030, health research is not expected to benefit from this increase. In fact, the share of research funding allocated to the Department of Health and Social Care is set to fall by 1%.  

This is a missed opportunity. Investing more in health research could help strengthen the NHS, support regional economic growth and save more lives.

If funding for health research increased at the same rate as overall research and development spending, the Department of Health and Social Care would receive an additional £690 million by 2029/30. This would result in more funding for vital cancer research projects, helping researchers find new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer and bring these breakthroughs to the people who need them.

But increasing funding is only one part of the solution. It also needs to be distributed more fairly. Currently, most regions in England, including all three regions in the North of England, do not receive their fair share of health research funding.

Too many people are missing out on the benefits of research because of where they live. The Autumn Budget is an opportunity to change this by directing the additional £690 million to regions, including Yorkshire, that have historically received less funding and allocating it according to the size of the population. 

The Autumn Budget is a vital opportunity to reshape the health research funding system into one that better serves the people and communities who need it most.  

That is why Yorkshire Cancer Research is calling for a fairer approach to health research funding with researchers, partners and people affected by cancer from across the region in a joint letter to the Chancellor.

A commitment from the Government to distribute health research funding more fairly across the country can support vital progress in cancer research, helping to create new career opportunities for researchers and give everyone the chance to benefit from life-saving research, regardless of where they live.

Yorkshire Cancer Research remains committed to investing in the next generation of research talent, helping to grow and retain cancer research expertise in Yorkshire and bringing the region closer to a cancer-free future.