FOI release

FOI2025/00678: ME/CFS Delivery Plan: Decisions on Biomedical Research Funding

This request was refused in part, so we didn't provide some of the information the requester asked for. This may include information where we can neither confirm nor deny that we hold it.

Case reference FOI2025/00678

Received 29 July 2025

Published 12 January 2026

Request

Request Received: 29 July 2025

I request the following information regarding the UK Government’s ME/CFS Delivery Plan published in July 2025:

1. Copies of all meeting minutes, briefing papers, internal reports, and email correspondence (from January 2022 to present) in which the Department or UKRI/MRC discussed whether or not to specifically allocate funding for biomedical research into ME/CFS as part of the Delivery Plan.

2. Any assessments, cost-benefit analyses, or recommendations presented to ministers or senior officials about the impact of allocating (or not allocating) such funding.

3. The names of any committees, working groups, or advisory panels involved in making this decision.

4. Copies of any responses to stakeholders (patient organisations, researchers, or advocacy groups) who requested allocated biomedical research funding during the Delivery Plan’s consultation phase.

Clarification Received: 10 September 2025

[For Q1] Please use the first search terms suggested

• ((("ME/CFS" OR "Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" OR "Post-Exertional Malaise") AND ("Funding") AND ("Delivery Plan" OR "ring-fence" OR "reserved funding")) AND ((ItemClass=IPM.Note) AND (Kind=email))) AND (Date=2022-01-01..2025-07-29)

Response

Response Sent: 1 December 2025

Full details of this response are provided in the attached documents.

Documents

This is UK Research and Innovation's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

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