Found: build on what I think was a successful debate on a private Member’s Bill earlier this year—the Rare Cancers Bill

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provision the National Cancer Plan will make for orphan drug pathways for patients with rare cancers requiring personalised treatment plans; and how those pathways will differ from existing commissioning arrangements.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 4 February 2026, NHS England and the Department published a National Cancer Plan for England. The National Cancer Plan is part of our work to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and will make England a world-leader for cancer survival.

The orphan drug designation is assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and is granted at the same time as the marketing authorisation. It provides a period of market exclusivity during which similar competitor medicines cannot enter the United Kingdom market. The orphan drug regulations are designed to support the development of medicines to treat rare diseases including rare cancers.

All new licensed medicines, including orphan medicines, are evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which makes recommendations for the NHS on whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE aims wherever possible to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the time of licensing, and the NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE. NICE has a strong track record in recommending orphan medicines for use on the NHS and many thousands of patients with rare diseases have benefitted from access to new medicines as a result.

The Rare Cancers Bill, currently going through the House of Lords, places a duty on the Government to publish a review of the law related to marketing authorisation for rare cancer drugs, for instance orphan drugs for cancer, comparing the UK’s approach to other approaches internationally. Through the National Cancer Plan the Government has committed to full implement of the Rare Cancers Bill to streamline trial pathways and review regulatory barriers that prevent access to promising new treatments.

Question

To ask The Leader of the House to list the private member's bills that started in the Commons in this session and that are now being considered in the Lords, indicating the parliamentary stage they have reached so far.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

The following private member’s bills that started in the Commons are now being considered in the Lords:

• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - Committee stage

• Licensing Hours Extensions Bill - Committee stage

• Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill - Committee stage

• Rare Cancers Bill - Second Reading

• Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill - Committee stage

The list of private member’s bills being considered in the Lords and their stage is available and kept updated in the House of Lords Business Paper document and on the Parliament website.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what factors are considered when allocating investment for research in the less survivable cancers; and what steps he is taking to combat underfunding for less survivable cancers.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is one of the largest areas of spend at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

These investments are pivotal to informing our efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes. An example of this investment is Imperial College London’s research on breath tests to detect less survivable cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Further information on the research is available at the following link:

https://imperialbrc.nihr.ac.uk/2023/06/05/imperial-led-uk-cancer-breath-tests-reach-final-stages/

Another example of Government investment was the launch of the NIHR’s national Brain Tumour Research Consortium in September 2024, which is bringing together researchers from a range of different disciplines and institutions with the aim of making scientific advances in how we prevent, detect, manage, and treat rare and less-survivable brain tumours in adults and children.

The NIHR welcomes further high-quality proposals from researchers to inform approaches to prevention, treatment, and care in relation to less survivable cancers. Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring that all patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The Government supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and access to innovative treatments for rare cancers.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the National Health Service will improve diagnosis and outcomes for all cancer patients in England, including for less common cancers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage research into detection (a) tools and (b) tests for the early detection of (i) pancreatic and (ii) other less survivable cancers.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is one of the largest areas of spend at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

These investments are pivotal to informing our efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes. An example of this investment is Imperial College London’s research on breath tests to detect less survivable cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Further information on the research is available at the following link:

https://imperialbrc.nihr.ac.uk/2023/06/05/imperial-led-uk-cancer-breath-tests-reach-final-stages/

Another example of Government investment was the launch of the NIHR’s national Brain Tumour Research Consortium in September 2024, which is bringing together researchers from a range of different disciplines and institutions with the aim of making scientific advances in how we prevent, detect, manage, and treat rare and less-survivable brain tumours in adults and children.

The NIHR welcomes further high-quality proposals from researchers to inform approaches to prevention, treatment, and care in relation to less survivable cancers. Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring that all patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The Government supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and access to innovative treatments for rare cancers.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the National Health Service will improve diagnosis and outcomes for all cancer patients in England, including for less common cancers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include astrocytoma brain cancer in the (a) National Cancer Plan, (b) Rare Cancers Bill and (c) NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan will take into account the needs of all patients with brain tumours. This means we will not be excluding any kinds of brain or spinal cord tumours and astrocytomas will be included as part of our work on brain tumours.

The Rare Cancers Bill as currently drafted is relevant to cancers that affect not more than 1 in 2000 people in the United Kingdom. Astrocytoma and low grade gliomas fit this definition and will therefore be relevant to the Bill.

The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is a platform that will speed up access to clinical trials for cancer vaccines and immunotherapies for patients who have been diagnosed with cancer. The platform is designed to be company and clinical trial agnostic so any company, including those developing vaccines for brain tumours, can contact the CVLP to explore how the platform can support their research.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS is taking to improve access to clinical trials for people with rare blood cancers.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients in the National Health Service, including those with rare blood cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

The Department-funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports NHS patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England, to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into rare blood cancers. NIHR infrastructure schemes aim to build research capacity and capability across all geographies, settings, and disease areas within the NHS.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve access to clinical trials in the NHS for cancer patients across the country, including patients with rare cancers.

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and access to innovative treatments for rare cancers.

The NIHR provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them, including research into blood cancer.

Found: improve diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours 25 5.1 National Cancer Plan 2026 25 5.2 Rare Cancers Bill

Found: Rare Cancers Bill: HL Bill 124 of 2024–26

Found: . • We will make rare cancers a priority for research by implementing the Rare Cancers Bill and supporting

Found: Now the changes outlined in the Plan, and the Rare Cancers Bill, have to be implemented in full.

Found: As part of the government’s new National Cancer Plan - and the Rare Cancers Bill which was introduced

Found: . • We will make rare cancers a priority for research by implementing the Rare Cancers Bill and supporting

Found: Now the changes outlined in the Plan, and the Rare Cancers Bill, have to be implemented in full.

Found: . 8 Agenda item 5 - An update from Dr Scott Arthur MP's office on his members bill for rare cancers bill

Found: Dr Scott Arthur MP • Dr Scott Arthur MP updated attendees on his Private Members Bill, the Rare Cancers Bill

Question

How is the Welsh Government engaging with the UK Government regarding the implications for Wales of the UK Government's Rare Cancers Bill?

Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care

Welsh Government officials are working to ensure there is co-ordination across the UK about the objectives in the Rare Cancers Bill.