Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS patients died from cancer within three months of diagnosis in each of the last five years.

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

The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England is the cancer registry for England and collects data on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. The service is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs

The following table shows the number of people who died within three months of their cancer diagnosis:

Source: NHS England Digital

Notes: Using the methodology from the Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registrations, the number of people who died within three months of their cancer diagnosis were counted. People who died on the same day as they were diagnosed were not included in the counts, as the vast majority of these are cases where the only indication of their cancer is their death certificate and their true date of diagnosis is not known. Many of the others are incidental findings at death. The statistics are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2022

My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published in 2026. The Prime Minister’s health mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future, and an essential part of this is achieving our goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer. The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care- as well as prevention and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years. This will benefit all cancer patients, including pancreatic cancer patients.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the Housing Benefit taper rate from 65% to 55% for people living in supported accommodation who are in work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department recognises the challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for residents in supported and temporary accommodation.

A wide range of customers currently receive rent support through Housing Benefit, including pensioners, residents in supported or temporary accommodation, and those who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper would therefore apply across these groups.

The Department is considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported and temporary accommodation, taking account of stakeholder views. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment.

It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.

Found: Q102 Antonia Bance: Welcome.

Found: Stephen Flynn Mr Angus MacDonald Susan Murray Jack Rankin Elaine Stewart Kirsteen Sullivan Antonia Bance

Found: Business and Trade Committee member present: Antonia Bance.

Found: Business and Trade Committee member present: Antonia Bance.