Cooksey Review of UK health research

Sir David Cooksey's Review of UK health research funding was published on 6 December 2006 when the Chancellor announced in his PreBudget Report that he and the Secretaries of States of Health and DTI accepted the recommendations. The Royal Society welcomes the publication of the review and we are pleased that it accepted many of the suggestions made in the joint Royal Society and Academy of Medical Sciences response to the consultation in July 2006, including the new model for the institutional arrangements. If implemented and resourced effectively, the recommendations should ensure that more research is translated into health and economic benefits for the UK. However, we remain concerned that without further new money to implement the proposed arrangements, basic research, which is essential for future innovation and the translational pipeline, will be under-resourced.
 
This response was submitted as background evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology which held an evidence session with Sir David Cooksey on 24 January 2007 to discuss his review.