Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the National Cancer Plan for England, published on 4 February, whether funding for travel costs for children and young people with cancer will be available to those in Wales and other devolved nations; and whether any Barnett formula consequentials will result from that funding.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families across the United Kingdom.

Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committing up to £10 million a year to a new fund open to all children and young people in England with cancer and their families regardless of income, to support them with the cost of travelling to and from treatment This commitment sits alongside wider action to transform cancer care for children and young people.

Health is predominately devolved. Devolved administrations receive funding through the Barnett Formula, and it is ultimately for them to allocate, prioritise, and manage their budgets. This funding is not new and so Barnett consequentials do not apply. However, the Department does work closely with our counterparts in the devolved administrations to share expertise and identify new opportunities to improve health and social care delivery across the United Kingdom.