We've published our annual report for Research Ethics Committees (REC) in England.
The report provides an overview of the activity of the 64 Research Ethics Committees in England from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
REC reviews
RECs are volunteer committees who review research applications and give an opinion on whether the research is ethical for the people taking part.
This includes looking at consent, recruitment and participant information materials, and the impact of the study design on participant wellbeing.
We aim to review all studies submitted to a REC within 60 calendar days of receiving a valid application.
During the 2025 to 2026 reporting period, 2,179 applications were reviewed at a full REC meeting in England.
Of these:
- 98% were given a final opinion in less than 60 days, with a median time to issue a final opinion of 28 days
- for clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMPs),100% of applications were given a final opinion within 60 days
- the median time to issue a final ethical opinion for CTIMPs was 29 days, less than half of the 60-day Combined Review target
Proportionate review
RECs also provide a Proportionate Review for studies that provide no material ethical issues. During this process applications are reviewed via email or online by a sub-committee of a REC, rather than at a full REC meeting.
During the reporting period, 999 applications were reviewed at a Proportionate Review sub-committee meeting in England.
The median time to issue a final opinion was 20 days, which is within our 21 days target
Substantial modifications
As well as reviewing new studies, RECs also review changes to studies that have already received a favourable opinion, which are called substantial modifications.
Modifications were previously known as 'amendments' until April 2026 when the terminology was changed in the updated Clinical Trials Regulations.
We aim to review substantial modifications within 35 calendar days.
During the reporting period, RECs reviewed 6,440 substantial modifications.
Of these:
- 93% were given a final opinion in less than 35 days, with a median time to issue a final opinion of 19 days
- for CTIMPs, 93% of applications were given a final opinion within 35 days. The median time to issue a final ethical opinion for CTIMPs was 19 days
Our REC volunteers
RECs consist of up to 15 members, who are classed as either ‘expert’ or ‘lay’ members and represent people from a variety of backgrounds. The definitions of REC member designations were updated in the Clinical Trials Regulations in April 2026, removing the previous ‘lay plus’ category.
There are more than 800 members in England and last year they met more than 1,300 times, and spent more than 75,000 hours volunteering.
The HRA is the appointing authority for RECs in England and is one of a number of organisations that work together in the UK to regulate different aspects of health and social care research.
Dr Jonathan Fennelly-BarnwellWe are incredibly thankful to our RECs for the huge contribution they make to the HRA and the health and social care research sector. The annual report shows that they continue to provide a high quality service and that thanks to their hard work and generosity we consistently meet our statutory timelines for approvals, and in some areas have speed them up.
This means that health and social care research can start more quickly and efficiently. But it’s important to remember that the REC review isn’t just about timelines, important as they are. RECs add value, and ensure that high quality research protects the interests of patients, service users and the public.
The past year has been a very exciting time for our organisation and I'm particularly thankful to our REC members for their support during the roll out of the amended Clinical Trials Regulations, and as we prepare to launch our new digital service, Plan and manage health and care research. I'm very proud of our RECs and the staff who work with them. None of what we do would be possible without their commitment and dedication.
Read the REC annual report
You can read the 2025 to 2026 annual report for RECs in England on our website