There is no cure for the life-shortening which affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord, and the MND Association has described how it can seem a “forgotten disease when it comes to funding and research”.

       Mr Javid, who was appointed to the role following the shock resignation of Matt Hancock, insisted that tackling MND is a priority.

       He said: “Motor Neurone Disease is a debilitating condition and I’m committed to doing all we can to fight this disease. We are funding research and backing pioneering projects to find better treatments that will improve outcomes for patients.

       “The National Institute for Health Research has already invested over ￡10million into MND initiatives over the last five years and there is excellent work being done by our world-class scientists at the Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre which is trialling new drugs to treat MND.

       “I want to encourage researchers working in this area to come forward and apply for funding so together we can help more people living with this condition.”

       The Government has come under fire for funding general neurological research rather than targeted studies but it defends its record.

       It points to ￡10.4million from the National Institute for Health Research to support work on MND over the last five years. It claims that expenditure over the last half decade by the Medical Research Council (MRC) that is “relevant to MND” came to ￡49？million.