Secondary Metastatic Breast Cancer

Baroness Merron Excerpts

Tuesday 9th May 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

The department has committed an additional £8 billion from 2022-23 to 2024-25, on top of the £2 billion elective recovery fund and the £700 million targeted investment fund already made available to the NHS. The Autumn Statement 2022 provided additional funding of £3.3 billion, and £3.3 billion for 2024-25, to support the NHS in managing the pressures that it faces.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My Lords, modelling from Cancer Research UK shows that the number of cancer cases in the UK is projected to rise by as much as a third in the next 15 years. As it takes 15 years to train an oncologist, a pathologist, a radiologist or a surgeon, can the Minister assure the House that the Government’s very long-awaited workforce plan will give transparent and ambitious projections for 10, 15 and 20 years into the future, to reflect the time it takes to train the cancer specialists that patients need?

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

The target within the cancer workforce plan of more than 4,000 staff members for 2016 and 2021 was exceeded by 226, with an annual growth rate of the cancer workforce of 3% to 4%. The Government have committed to publishing an NHS long-term workforce plan for the next 15 years, covering doctors, nurses and other key professionals. This should be published in spring 2023. In 2023-24, NHS England will continue to make investments in education and training to increase capacity in the cancer and diagnostics workforce, building on the £81 million invested in 2022-23.