National Brain Cancer Lead

Baroness Pidgeon Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I know how much the Prime Minister appreciated his meeting with Archie. Indeed, the Prime Minister has acknowledged that enough progress has not been made in this area and committed, as my noble friend said, to a number of actions. I certainly would agree with my noble friend’s view on the importance of clinical trials. I can say to my noble friend that, as we set out in the national cancer plan, we are committed to ensuring that the UK supports new clinical trials for brain cancer and boosting participation in research. Both of these really need to be pushed forward, and we are fast-tracking clinical trial set-up times to 150 days to ensure that more patients can access innovative treatments in our country.

[Baroness Pidgeon (LD)]

My Lords, I pay tribute to the swimmer, Archie Goodburn, for his courage in campaigning for people affected by brain cancer. I welcome the Government’s commitment to commission an expert review. Will they ensure that it will set out clear, time-bound recommendations, with named bodies responsible for delivery in this area, and that progress against them is published?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

We are keen to be open about this. The immediate expert review, which will take just three months, will be led by Professor Anthony Chalmers. It will examine progress since the 2018 brain tumour research report. I look forward to that review being published within three months. A national action plan, which I am sure will refer to the points that the noble Baroness made, will then help us to move discoveries from the laboratory into treatments and clinical care much more quickly. That is where we need to be.