There was the the merest hint during the Welsh Senedd Debate on ME/CFS in December 2025 of possibility of research hubs being established when Adam Price MS (Motion NDM8884) sought to amend his Motion to call on the Welsh government to also “develop a strategic approach to research by supporting Wales to host one of the five proposed UK hubs for collaborative translational research into pathological mechanisms that cause ME, long COVID and related post-acute infection conditions.”
What was striking was that the proposed 5 hubs proposal appeared new. It was not in the action points of the ME/CFS Delivery Plan. Was this a movement to recogise the call by researchers, patients and charities (including ME Research UK) for a new co-ordinated and better funded research landscape? Certainly, Mr Price hoped a hub would be based in Wales.
Jeremy Miles MS Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care responded
Adam Price and others importantly referred to the significance of research, and I agree with him and with others who have referred to it. I’ve asked my officials to reach out to our research partners in the UK to better understand what the specific proposals are for funding and establishing the UK hubs that have been referred to. This will enable us to engage with our research community to explore and take advantage of those potential opportunities, and a meeting between my officials and Professor David Price is scheduled in the coming weeks.
At Westminster Max Williamson MP ‘s question (UIN 118338) elicited nothing new from Kanishka Narayan MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology).
Q – To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress the Medical Research Council has made on delivering ME/CFS research improvements.
A – The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has prioritised research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, investing over £4.65 million since 2020, and welcomes high quality applications in this area.MRC is working with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to deliver on agreed actions from the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan. This includes funding strategic initiatives to increase research capacity and hosting engagement events to bring together research funders, commercial and academic researchers and patient representatives. For example, in November DHSC, NIHR and UKRI, co-hosted a research showcase to discuss and explore the ongoing research in the fields of ME/CFS and long COVID. MRC continues to liaise with the ME/CFS research community to support future applicants.
ME Research UK has commented widely and recently on the lack of research funding avaialbe from the main UK government research bodies.
