Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge has today urged Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and the government, to support the vital research that is carried out by leading medical charities in the UK, many based in and around Cambridge. 

The Charity Research Support Fund, or CRSF, is part of the government’s block funding to universities and allows for indirect costs; this permits researchers who are funded by medical research charities to recover a greater portion of their costs. This means that money donated by the public can go straight to funding research to ultimately benefit patients. 

He told the Commons “Medical research charities play a key role in developing new medical treatments, yet the Charity Research Support Fund, which enables universities to unlock funding from the charity sector, has been frozen since 2010. Will the Secretary of State heed the call from the Association of Medical Research Charities to enhance the CRSF in real terms, in line with inflation and with charity investment?”