Request Received: 25 March 2026
For the financial years 2018/19 to 2024/25, please provide the following information for UKRI funded brain cancer and brain tumour research (including MRC):
1. Awards by year\ A table showing, by financial year:
2. Payment timing\ For each award, or the nearest recorded summary if award level detail would exceed the cost limit:
-
approval or decision date.
-
date of first payment, or confirmation that payment has not yet been made.
3. Approval roles\ The role titles responsible for approving awards and authorising first payments.
Please state “not held” where information is not held.
Clarification Received: 23 April 2026
This letter constitutes my final refinement of FOI2026/00255. It is expressly drafted to fall within the section 12 cost limit and to require disclosure under sections 1 and 16 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
1. ABSOLUTE SCOPE (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
Research Council: Searches must be limited exclusively to the Medical Research Council (MRC).
Time Period: Financial years 2015/16 to 2024/25 inclusive.
Subject Identification: Awards already recorded as relating to brain cancer or brain tumours, determined solely by existing fields such as titles, abstracts, keywords, or classification codes. No manual review is requested.
Funding Types: Researcher-led or investigator-led grants and strategic funding programmes only. Fellowships, studentships, training, and infrastructure awards are explicitly excluded.
2. INFORMATION REQUIRED (AGGREGATED ONLY)
For each financial year: total number of awards and total aggregate value (£). Where already held, a breakdown by funding scheme or call and approval/decision year.
3. EXPLICIT EXCLUSIONS
No first payment dates, payment authorisation data, staff names or roles, or any award-level manual review. Data not readily extractable should be disregarded and not relied upon to engage section 12.
4. PARTIAL DISCLOSURE
If any discrete element exceeds the cost limit, all information that can be provided within the limit must still be disclosed, with remaining information supplied in aggregated or summary form where possible.
5. SECTION 16 DUTY TO ASSIST
Any claim that further refinement is required must specify exactly which element exceeds the cost limit, provide a separate cost estimate, and confirm what information will be disclosed regardless.
6. SEARCH CERTIFICATION
Please confirm that systematic searches were conducted across all relevant MRC central grant and award management systems using objective criteria aligned with this request.
