Cancer charity cuts research by £150m

Daily Telegraph Reporter

THE country’s biggest cancer charity has announced plans to cut back its research spending by £150 million and reduce its workforce by a quarter to offset the loss of income brought about by the pandemic.

Cancer Research UK said it will make up to 345 people redundant in the next six months.

The charity has projected a £300 million loss of fundraising income over the next three years, including £160million this year alone.

Over the next five years it will spend £250 million on research – a cut of £150million from what it had planned.

In June, some of Britain’s leading medical research charities issued warnings that research into some of the UK’S deadliest diseases was being

“devastated” by the pandemic. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive at Cancer Research UK, said: “We’re living through a global crisis unlike any other and, as it’s unfolded, it’s become clear that there’ll be a huge economic impact for years to come. We made some very difficult decisions early on to mitigate the impact on our work; we moved all of our staff to 80 per cent pay, furloughed 60 per cent of staff, and cut £44million from our research.

But it is with a heavy heart that I can confirm we will have to reduce the size of our workforce, and make significant cuts to our research spend, as a result of the situation we find ourselves in.”

Ms Mitchell said the charity could no longer afford to retain current spending levels.

“This plan sets the direction for a new phase in the life of Cancer Research UK. We will emerge a streamlined charity, but still with a resolute drive for impact. Together, we will still beat cancer.”

Many charities have described huge losses as they warned that research efforts could be impacted for years.

The Association of Medical Research Charities has called for the Government to commit to a matched funding agreement to put the sector on a stable footing.