Advanced Brain Cancer: Tissue Freezing

Clive Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I thank the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) for securing this important debate, and all other hon. Members who have contributed. I would also like to highlight the incredible work done by the campaigners for Owain’s law—you are doing a most remarkable campaign.

Owain was diagnosed with a grade 4 tumour in 2022 and sadly died in 2024. Despite showing success, Owain stopped receiving effective treatment because not enough of his brain tissue was frozen to make further immunotherapy vaccines. Owain’s wife, Ellie, is calling for fair and equal access to brain tissue freezing, enabling every patient to access new treatments and research. The Government need to listen to the campaign, to act and to invest in brain tumour freezing so that we can start to save more lives.

Brain cancer is already the biggest killer of people under 40, and 45% of brain cancers are diagnosed in an emergency setting, meaning that the cancer has progressed untreated and that the patient is more unlikely to tolerate treatment.

Given so many factors affect survival outcomes for brain cancer patients, the Government need to start improving treatment of brain cancer now. Most brain cancer patients in Wokingham cannot access advanced technologies, such as personalised immunotherapy cancer treatments that rely on frozen tissue. The Royal Berkshire NHS foundation trust and the Frimley Health NHS foundation trust do not have any medical-grade freezers suitable for storing tissue samples, and they have no access to the rapid freezing equipment suitable for brain tissue. That situation needs to change.

The cost of providing the right freezers would be small for each hospital trust. I entirely agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) and other Members who have today called for other tissues to be frozen, not just brain tissue.

Like many other Members today, I am really pleased to see the Minister in her place. I have a very simple question for her: can she confirm that equal access to high-quality tissue storage pathways will be addressed in the upcoming national cancer plan?

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh]

On a point of order, Mr Western. I want to make a clarification. In my response to the intervention by the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), I mixed up quangos. I suggested that it was the fault of the MHRA that the Oncotherm machine was not in an NHS hospital. It is, of course, the fault of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. I would not want anybody to think that that machine has not been approved and registered by the MHRA.

Less Survivable Cancers

Clive Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Clive Efford (in the Chair)]

I am told that the Minister is on her way, but we will proceed because so many people want to speak. I remind Members to bob if they intend to make a speech, to give me a fighting chance of working out how long each Member will have to speak. It looks like Back Benchers will have an average of three minutes each, once we start.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD) [R]]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered less survivable cancers.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I declare an interest as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital; also, a family member has shares in a medical company. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing this debate, which I first asked for six months ago—[Interruption.]

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Whose phone is that?

[Clive Jones]

I apologise.

[Clive Efford (in the Chair)]

Is that the Minister calling?

[Clive Jones]

Yes, that was the Minister calling me to apologise. [Laughter.]

I asked the Committee for the debate six months ago, but having it one month before the probable publication of a national cancer plan is not a bad date for it. I also thank the less survivable cancers taskforce, Cancer Research UK and Myeloma UK for their help and guidance in securing and preparing for this debate.

As I have mentioned many times here and in the main Chamber, I am a cancer survivor. The experience has shown me how important early diagnosis and effective treatment are to our outcomes. My diagnosis was delayed, because I was sent away by the first GP I saw and had to wait several months again before being diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, my treatment was successful, but many others are not so lucky, especially those with less survivable cancers.

Every year in the UK, 90,000 people are diagnosed with a less survivable cancer—cancers of the brain, liver, lungs, pancreas, oesophagus and stomach. Together, they represent 40% of all cancer deaths and account for 67,000 deaths every year. The less survivable cancers have been overlooked for far too long. While many other cancers have seen major advancements in survival, survival rates for those six cancers have remained staggeringly low for the past 25 years. The collective five-year survival rate for those cancers is just 16%. The sad reality for the 90,000 people diagnosed with one of the cancers is that 75,000 will not survive more than five years. That is a school play someone will not see, a set of exam results that they will miss, or a first day at university, a graduation, a significant birthday of their own or of a loved one, or the birth of a grandchild that someone will not see.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate, in particular given his personal circumstances. He rightly outlined the need for early diagnosis. Does he agree that that is particularly true of those of us who are males, who sometimes have an extreme reluctance to go to a GP to ascertain what might be wrong? That needs to be addressed urgently.

[Clive Jones]

It does. The more that people like me and others who have survived cancer talk about it, and about our experience of a delay and having the cancer spread, the more that will help others to come forward.

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this debate and the excellent speech he is making. He mentioned that the Government have said they will shortly publish the national cancer plan, which will include details of how they will improve outcomes for patients, speed up diagnosis and treatment, ensure that patients have access to new treatments and technology, and above all, improve cancer survival rates. Does he agree that it is critical that the plan also features key measures to address less survivable cancers, including supporting the roll-out of innovative detection tests and evaluating their use, supporting campaigns to raise awareness of symptoms, and producing a strategy for earlier and faster diagnosis?

[Clive Jones]

The hon. Member makes a very good intervention. He is absolutely right that we need to ensure that this is covered in the national cancer plan. From what I am hearing, I am optimistic that it will be.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

The hon. Member is making an excellent speech. My constituent Fiona Tweedie asked me to attend this debate because she sadly lost her husband to a brain tumour last year. She asked me to flag, in relation to the national cancer strategy, the fact that it is very difficult in Scotland to access clinical trials, and if someone is based in Scotland, they cannot access English trials. Does the hon. Member agree that this needs to be a genuinely national strategy, and that it must not allow different parts of the UK to take different directions?

[Clive Jones]

The hon. Member makes a good point; we definitely need more clinical trials in this country. We have been lagging behind in the last few years, and we need them nationally, rather than just in Scotland, Wales, England or Northern Ireland. That would be advantageous for both drug companies and the people who benefit from those trials.

For many of these less survivable cancers, survival rates in the UK lag behind other countries. We can see from our international counterparts, including Australia, Belgium, Denmark and the US, that progress is achievable, and that system reforms can play a key role in driving better patient outcomes. For example, the UK is ranked 29th out of 33 countries for pancreatic cancer survival. It is fair to ask the Minister: why is the UK ranked so low? It is also fair to ask the Conservative shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson): why are we ranked so low after the Conservatives’ 14 years in Government? Perhaps it is due to the challenges in how our healthcare and cancer services are organised, and our service delivery, rather than the availability of treatment options. It is vital that we learn from our international counterparts and understand what systemic changes they have made to drive progress.

The all-party parliamentary group on less survivable cancers, of which I am a member, launched an inquiry into earlier detection and faster diagnosis. During the inquiry, the APPG heard from people with lived experience—clinicians, researchers, charities and the industry—about what vital measures are needed in the national cancer plan to improve earlier detection and faster diagnosis. The APPG found that if earlier diagnosis rates were doubled, an additional 7,500 lives would be saved every year. Deaths from those cancers could quickly be reduced by 10%.

Faster diagnosis is integral to saving lives and improving outcomes for people impacted by less survivable cancers. Simply put, it enables patients to access treatment and care much quicker, increasing their chances of survival. We are currently far from achieving this: just 28% of less survivable cancers are diagnosed at stages 1 or 2, compared with 54% for all other cancers. Concerningly, brain tumours are diagnosed in emergency settings, which is closely linked to worse outcomes.

That is common for myeloma patients—an incurable blood cancer. A third of people with myeloma are diagnosed via emergency presentation. Like the delay in diagnosing less survivable cancers, this means that their cancer has progressed untreated, and the condition has become more advanced, so their ability to tolerate treatments may be seriously hampered. The APPG’s inquiry produced some recommendations for the Government that illustrate the broad range of actions needed to achieve earlier detection and faster diagnosis, from equipping GPs with better tools and rolling out targeted screening programmes to promoting greater research into innovative diagnostics.

[Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley) (LD)]

I commend my hon. Friend for securing this invaluable debate. My constituent Billy was just four years old when he passed away due to DIPG—diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma—which is an incurable child brain tumour cancer. Every nine days a child is diagnosed with it. At the request of Billy’s parents I asked the Government whether there was any more they could do for brain cancer research. I am delighted that the Government have since announced that they have allocated £13.7 million in funding to the National Institute for Health and Care Research brain tumour research consortium. Does my hon. Friend agree that allocating research into rarer cancers not only benefits the children who suffer from these horrific diseases but enhances our research and development capability more broadly, clinically, which is also a vital industry for the UK?

--- Later in debate ---

[Clive Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention; I am really sorry to hear about young Billy. The £13.7 million being put into research has to be welcomed and we should thank the Government for that.

The first recommendation is to invest in greater research, detection tests, and tools to support GPs when identifying the symptoms of less survivable cancers. GPs face difficulties in identifying vague symptoms linked to less survivable cancers, especially as they see only a small number of cases each year, and many of the symptoms overlap with those of less serious health conditions. For example, a patient with oesophageal cancer might suffer from nausea and have difficulty breathing.

I saw that lack of exposure at first hand. The first GP that I saw did not think that as a man I would be able to have breast cancer. Patients often visit their GP multiple times before being referred for further diagnostic tests. For example, currently people with pancreatic cancer visit their GP between two and five times before being referred for a CT scan. GPs lack the necessary detection tools and tests to easily identify vague symptoms earlier. But it does not have to be this way. Innovative technologies, such as Dxcover for brain cancer and Cytosponge for oesophageal cancer, are already in development and can help healthcare professionals to identify those cancers earlier and more easily.

The second recommendation is to bring together research and medical communities and establish centres of excellence for each of the less survivable cancers as key forums for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Collaboration between researchers and the medical community is essential for enhancing innovation and successfully embedding new diagnostic tools into the health system. Centres of excellence can connect specialists across research and clinical sectors, bolstering knowledge sharing and enhancing collaboration. Centres of excellence should be established by the national research community, supported by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. There should also be more collaboration with colleagues across the world.

Thirdly, we have to develop a centralised, nationwide case-finding programme to proactively identify high-risk individuals across multiple cancer types, building on the work already undertaken by the NHS on new onset diabetes and weight loss. To achieve faster diagnosis we must expand efforts to identify those at high risk of developing a less survivable cancer across the country. As I have already said, many healthcare professionals say every day of the week, “When cancer is detected earlier, we significantly increase patients’ chances of survival.” That is particularly true for liver cancer. When detected earlier, nearly 50% of patients with liver cancer survive for over five years compared with only 5% of those who were diagnosed at stage 4.

For those diagnosed with less survivable cancers, faster access to treatment is critical. Treatment delays cost lives. That is true of all cancers, but particularly of the less survivable ones, which progress rapidly and require specialised treatment and care. The national cancer plan offers a crucial opportunity to tackle the systemic barriers currently preventing patients from getting faster access to treatment. Variation in patient pathways, lack of diagnostic capacity and shortages across our specialist oncology and supportive care workforce have all contributed to poor access to treatment for patients affected by these cancers.

Three in four hospitals are currently failing to meet their cancer waiting time targets. According to analysis in The Guardian, 73% of trusts are failing to meet their 62-day cancer waiting time standard. One statistic I repeat time and again is that not a single NHS trust has met the 62-day target since 2015. That failure has been allowed for 10 years. It is again fair to ask the Conservative shadow Minister why, when the party was in government for so long.

This is felt more acutely for less survivable cancers, which already have some of the lowest treatment rates. For instance, 70% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer receive no active treatment. There is a similar picture at the Royal Berkshire hospital, where many of my constituents are patients. In 2024 alone, more than 70% of stomach cancer patients, 58% of those with pancreatic cancer and 69% of oesophageal cancer patients waited more than 62 days from urgent GP referral to treatment. That is far outside the NHS target of starting treatment for 85% within that time.

Some Royal Berkshire hospital patients are left waiting more than four months—in extreme cases more than six months—for treatment to begin, and that is not acceptable. To improve access to treatment, the Government should set tumour-specific standards through the modern service framework that has been committed to in the NHS 10-year plan, starting with the cancers with the poorest operational performance. That must include establishing minimum standards and clearer strategic priorities to support local delivery of pathway improvements for cancer.

The best way to achieve that would be to develop national, standardised, optimal pathways across the whole patient journey for different types of cancer. Where already available, those should be based on existing insight from the national clinical audits and the Getting It Right First Time programme. To achieve maximum impact, the Government must ensure that 62-day cancer waiting time targets are met and then reduced to much less than 62 days. The current standard is too low for rapidly increasing cancers such as the less survivable ones. That is crucial, because it would ensure that more people were well enough to tolerate treatment.

Research and development is also important as part of improving treatment effectiveness and diagnostics. Research into less survivable cancers has historically been underfunded, and that must change, as recognised by clinicians and many others. Isla, a constituent of my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain), has started a petition calling for more funding of research into pancreatic cancer, and it has attracted more than 200,000 signatures. Poor survival outcomes result in fewer patients taking part in clinical trials and studies, and that in turn contributes to fewer breakthroughs and less research investment—a vicious cycle that can and must be broken. Consistent, sustained research is crucial for delivering breakthroughs.

The Rare Cancers Bill, which is progressing through Parliament, has the potential to transform research into less survivable cancers. I thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for sponsoring the Bill and for all his work on cancer policy. He is a true champion for cancer patients in this Parliament. The Rare Cancers Bill is a truly groundbreaking piece of legislation that has the potential to deliver the essential research investment and focus needed to unlock breakthroughs and drive better patient outcomes. If passed, the Bill would ensure there was a named lead in the Government with a responsibility to support research and innovation for these cancers. The Bill would improve patient access to relevant research and clinical trials, and it would place a duty on the Government to review and reform orphan drug regulations to incentivise greater research into treatments for rare cancers.

The Government need to act now to improve survival outcomes for less survivable cancers. Investment and reform are needed to speed up diagnosis and improve treatment, and investment in research is essential to reaching this aim. With upcoming legislation on cancer care, there is a real opportunity for the Government to act now, to be bold and to erase the previous Government’s failure to prioritise cancer diagnosis, treatment, care and outcomes.

The Minister will know from this debate that I and many other colleagues here today, and many who are not able to attend, will be watching her actions and the actions of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister. We will be expecting results and massive improvements in the coming years.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Clive Jones]

I thank the Minister very much for her interesting response. I thank all Members who contributed to the debate, many of whom spoke very personally about their own experiences. From time to time, that can be quite a hard thing to do, so I thank everybody for doing so. In particular, I thank the hon. Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley), who spoke very movingly.

I hope the Minister has taken note of all the things that have come out of the debate. There is a need for better diagnosis and for new and more drug trials; there is a need to share information among organisations and across borders; there is a need for better screening of cancer; there is a need for big improvements in the workforce; there is a need for better equipment and new technologies; and there is a need to embrace innovation.

I was pleased to hear that the national cancer plan is still probably going to be announced sometime in February—maybe 4 February—and that it has not been delayed. Everybody is looking forward to seeing that plan. Not just those of us who have come to this debate, but many MPs who have not been able to attend, and millions of our constituents, will be looking to see what is in the national cancer plan. We really hope it covers all the things we have been asking for to date—all the things that the APPGs have been asking for and that individual Members have had meetings with the Minister and others about. All I can say on behalf of the people who have an interest in cancer is that we really hope the Government have been listening, and that it is a cancer plan that everybody in the House is able to get behind—one that will improve diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for people in this country suffering with the most awful diseases. I thank everyone very much for attending the debate.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered less survivable cancers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Clive Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

7. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to deliver the new hospital programme on maintenance costs across the NHS estate.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

22. What progress his Department has made on the implementation of the new hospital programme.

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

In January we published an honest, realistic and deliverable plan that puts the programme on a sustainable footing, ensuring that taxpayers get the maximum value for money. We are committed to delivering all the schemes and are moving at pace, with funding in place for design work, construction and business case development. Outside the new hospital programme, we are investing £30 billion in day-to-day maintenance repairs of the NHS estate across this spending review period.

--- Later in debate ---

[Karin Smyth]

I think that the Conservatives’ constituents know exactly what their promises were built on: sand. That is why there are very few Conservative Members in the House and a lot of Members on the Labour Benches. We took hold of the programme and put it on a sustainable and credible footing, and we will deliver it.

[Clive Jones]

Frimley Park hospital is in wave 1 of the new hospital programme, with construction expected to start in 2028-29. Many of my constituents use the hospital, and they are rightly concerned about possible delays to its build, especially with the issue of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. Patients and staff cannot be expected to work in an unsafe environment longer than necessary, if at all. Will the Minister reassure my constituents and confirm that the construction on Frimley Park hospital will begin no later than 2029?

[Karin Smyth]

The hon. Gentleman is an assiduous campaigner on behalf of Royal Berkshire hospital and now of Frimley Park hospital. I met with Members of Parliament last week who are involved in the RAAC schemes, which are progressing to plan. We are absolutely on target with progressing that plan, and we look forward to the proposals coming through from the local integrated care board.

International Men’s Day

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

As we mark International Men’s Day, we have an opportunity to address the biggest inequality in men’s health: prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, yet it is the only major cancer without a screening programme. Hopefully, the Secretary of State will ensure that that changes in the national cancer plan. We are approaching a pivotal moment on the path towards the UK’s first prostate cancer screening programme. We cannot afford to wait while more men miss out on lifesaving early diagnosis.

Some men face greater inequalities than others. Prostate Cancer UK reports that black men face twice the risk of prostate cancer, and men in deprived communities are 29% more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage, incurable prostate cancer. Without targeted and urgent action, those inequalities will only deepen. A national screening programme is urgently needed. It would result in earlier diagnosis, and we all know that when prostate cancer is identified early, survival outcomes are dramatically improved.

As I said, I am sure that the Secretary of State will ensure that prostate cancer will be a priority in the upcoming national cancer plan, but could he confirm that? Can he also confirm that GP guidelines will be updated so that they can start lifesaving conversations with men at risk? There must also be clear advice on a simple online risk checker, and the Government need to fund nationwide awareness programmes so that every man knows his risk and can act early.

Implementation of those four things would dramatically improve outcomes for many with prostate cancer. I am afraid there will be no dad jokes from me. My daughters constantly tell me that all my jokes are dad jokes, and that they are bad ones.

Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease

Clive Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Dr Cooper]

I thank the hon. Member for making that excellent point. He is absolutely right. The issues of the NHS waiting lists are pertinent and stark. Reducing them will mean that we have to get the left shift right as well as invest in acute services.

Our policies have failed the population for decades. This debate is an opportunity to make the urgent case for a national liver strategy, joined-up public health work and profound reform of the conditions that stop us all living well. Because we have failed to build an environment where healthy food is affordable and accessible, two thirds of UK adults are now overweight or obese, and one in three children in England are above a healthy weight when they leave primary school.

Fatty liver disease is a silent killer, often asymptomatic until at a very advanced stage, meaning many patients are diagnosed too late for effective intervention. Left untreated, as too many are, fatty liver disease can progress to liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. Fatty liver disease also increases significantly the risk of heart attacks, stroke and heart failure. It is projected to overtake alcohol as the leading cause of liver transplants within a decade.

How do we treat fatty liver disease? Despite high and rising mortality rates, there are limited treatment options for patients with this disease. As I have said, weight loss and lifestyle change are essential.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for bringing this very important subject to Westminster Hall. She is absolutely right. Fatty liver disease is the fastest rising cause of liver cancer death in the UK and highlights the risk of developing a less survivable cancer for people living with obesity. Does the hon. Member agree that improvements to diagnosis of and treatment for fatty liver disease should be covered in the national cancer plan, which I called for a year ago and the Government are to announce early next year?

[Dr Cooper]

I thank the hon. Member for his excellent intervention. I absolutely agree that the national cancer strategy is essential. We must make sure that liver cancer is integrated into it, and that diagnosis and treatment are a key part of it and are funded across the country, to make sure that the inequalities that I am going to talk about are addressed sufficiently.

Before we get to the issue of diagnosis and treatment, weight loss and lifestyle change are essential. We know that a Mediterranean diet plus exercise improves liver function and that reducing ultra-processed foods reduces intrahepatic fat. However, for those whose disease has progressed to scarring of the liver, or liver fibrosis, there is an urgent need for therapies that directly target the liver.

Currently, no drugs are licensed to treat fatty liver disease in the UK. We have fallen behind the United States and Europe, as our market is too small for prioritisation. If I might get a bit more political, that is driven in part by our decision to leave the European single market. But this is a rapidly advancing field and we are approaching a potential breakthrough in treatment. With adequate planning, co-ordinated action, investment and leadership, we can ensure that our national health system is patient-ready to deliver the next generation of medications, and that all patients, regardless of postcode, can benefit.

Early diagnosis offers significantly better outcomes and a wider range of treatment options, but despite fatty liver disease being medically recognised in the 1980s, clinical and public awareness of it remains far too low. We urgently need to increase public understanding and encourage early liver checks, particularly for those at higher risk because of obesity or type 2 diabetes. What is more, we have seen primary care systemic failures to improve early detection, such that three quarters of people are diagnosed with cirrhosis at hospital in an emergency, when it is too late for effective treatment or intervention.

NHS Workforce Levels: Impact on Cancer Patients

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 23rd October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of NHS workforce levels on cancer patients.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Hobhouse. I declare an interest as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital. Also, a family member has shares in a medical company.

Being a cancer survivor, cancer diagnosis, treatment and outcomes are important to me. I thank the 136 people who responded to my survey ahead of this debate, and the Chamber engagement team for helping to highlight the real experiences of cancer patients across the country. I also thank all the organisations that have helped me and my office to prepare for the debate.

Shortfalls in the NHS workforce are no secret. Consultants, nurses, radiologists and oncologists are all working flat out to deliver care but are being held back by staff shortages, limited equipment, outdated buildings and a lack of training. This is a legacy of the last Conservative Government. The new Labour Government must act swiftly to support our NHS workforce and deliver world-class cancer care.

I welcome the commitment to a new national cancer plan that was confirmed on 4 February 2025—World Cancer Day—after I called for a national cancer plan on 31 October last year. That plan must prioritise early diagnosis and improved treatment. Perhaps it could even be launched on World Cancer Day 2026, which is 4 February.

According to Lilly UK, only one third of NHS staff believe there are enough people for them to perform their roles effectively. The Royal College of Radiologists reports a 29% shortfall in radiologists, or 1,670 consultants, which is set to rise to 39%, or 3,112 consultants, in five years. An extra 346 radiologists are now needed to clear the diagnostic backlog—equivalent to 9% of the current workforce. The Royal College of Pathologists found that 60% of consultants said their departments lack adequate resources, including staff.

Clinical oncology faces a 15% shortfall, forecast to reach 19% by 2029, with smaller cancer centres suffering vacancy rates six times higher than larger ones. In genomics, only 60% of tests are delivered on time, mainly due to a shortage of pathologists. In 2022, NHS England reported a 12% mammographer vacancy rate, rising to 15% in the midlands and south-east, and 36% of the workforce are due to retire within the next 10 to 15 years. Mike Richards’ 2020 review found that histopathology activity had increased by 30% between 2018 and 2019, while consultant numbers rose by just 8%. The gap continues to widen.

The UK also has among the lowest numbers of MRI, CT and PET scanners per million of the population among comparable nations, with just 10 CT scanners, 8.6 MRI units and 0.5 PET scanners per million. Even when equipment exists, staff shortages mean it is often not used. One survey respondent arrived for a CT scan to find no staff available to operate the machine.

In August 2025, only 69% of patients began treatment within 62 days of urgent referral—far below the 85% target, which has not been met since December 2015. That is the fault not of this Government but of the last one, but this Government need to make some improvements.

Early diagnosis is key to survival, yet 73% of hospitals are failing to meet the 62-day target. Between January and July 2025, only 66.7% of breast cancer patients began treatment within 62 days of referral. According to data from Breast Cancer Now, if the 85% target had been met each month, 2,931 more people would have started treatment on time. Even under Labour we are continuing to struggle. The Government are not making enough of a difference yet. But I must say again that the problems in the NHS are down to 14 years of Conservative Governments.

Best practice recommends a triple assessment, a clinical exam, imaging and biopsy in a single appointment, yet between 2020 and 2022 only 68% of people received that, due to staff shortages. The failure to streamline diagnosis creates delays and backlogs. Nearly everyone who is diagnosed with bowel cancer early survives for five years, but only one in 10 survive if they are diagnosed late. Still, just 38% of patients in England are diagnosed at stages 1 or 2. One respondent shared how her daughter, who was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, waited months to start treatment due to delays caused by workforce issues.

In July 2025, only 50% of lower gastrointestinal cancer patients were treated within 62 days of referral, although 93% began treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat. That shows that the delays occur early in the diagnostic process. At the same time, 91,400 people were waiting for a colonoscopy or a sigmoidoscopy. Around 28% waited for more than six weeks and 13% for more than 13 weeks. The Government must increase endoscopy and pathology capacity, and that requires the improvement of staffing levels.

Less survivable cancers—lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach—are most affected by workforce shortages. Only 35% of pancreatic cancer patients receive treatment within 62 days. Less survivable cancers account for 20% of cases but cause 42% of cancer deaths, with a five-year survival rate of just 16%, compared with 55% in more survivable cancers. A new national cancer plan must include a strategy specifically for less-survivable cancers.

Between 2015 and 2023, one in four leukaemia patients faced avoidable diagnostic delays. A Leukaemia UK survey found that insufficient phlebotomy capacity was the top reason for delays in basic full-blood-count tests—a simple, inexpensive diagnostic tool. Acute myeloid leukaemia patients who faced avoidable delays were 22% more likely to die within a year of diagnosis. The Government should audit and invest in phlebotomy services, as called for by Leukaemia UK and the Royal College of General Practitioners. The Government also need to establish a national register of available phlebotomy sites.

Cancer remains a leading cause of death from disease among teenagers and young adults, but it is too often missed. Around 46.3% of 16 to 24-year-olds saw a GP three or more times before diagnosis, according to the Teenage Cancer Trust. That diagnosis delay is exacerbated by a nationwide decline in GPs, meaning longer waits and reduced access to diagnostic services. The national cancer plan and workforce plan must ensure that all frontline healthcare professionals—from GPs to A&E staff and opticians—are trained to recognise cancer symptoms in young people. Services in deprived areas also need support. Those communities face heavier workloads, greater pressure and less funding. The Government must provide targeted support for those areas.

Forty-three per cent of brain tumour patients saw a healthcare professional three or more times before diagnosis, and 55% of parents said their child’s tumour was misdiagnosed. In 2020, 45% of brain tumours were diagnosed in emergency settings—double the 22.5% for all cancers.

According to the Brain Tumour Charity, shortages of neuroradiologists and limited imaging access, alongside GP training gaps, have caused these delays. GPs should be allowed to request neuroimaging directly for concerning symptoms. For prostate cancer, in July 2025, only 55% of men began treatment within 62 days—a 5% drop since January. Even this year, we are still heading in the wrong direction. Men are waiting weeks or months for MRI and biopsy results due to staff shortages. England also has one of the lowest numbers of radiologists per head of population in Europe, a situation that must be rectified.

Clinical nurse specialists are essential to patient support, yet in 2024, 31% of blood cancer patients did not know who their clinical nurse specialist was, and 22% did not know how to contact them. That information is from Blood Cancer UK. Among secondary breast cancer patients in 2019, 25% had not seen a CNS since diagnosis, and only 65% said their CNS had sufficient time for them. For leukaemia, just 9% were offered a holistic needs assessment, which CNSs help to deliver. The national cancer plan must ensure that every patient has access to a CNS, but instability is worsening.

The Royal College of Radiologists’ 2024 census found that colorectal oncology has the highest locum reliance, at 13%. One in five colorectal consultants will retire within the next five years. How are we going to replace those healthcare professionals? The British Association of Urological Surgeons reports that 12% of consultant roles are unfilled, with a growing reliance on costly locums.

In haematology, the east midlands has twice as many vacancies as filled clinical scientist roles, with 32% of haematology clinicians planning to reduce their working hours. Again, the Royal College of Radiologists reports that the median age of radiologists leaving fell from 56 in 2021 to 49 in 2024, and for clinical oncologists from 59 to 54 in one year. Around 20% of clinical oncology consultants will retire in the next five years.

The NHS is losing staff faster than it can replace them. What will the Government do to replace those doctors before they retire? People with less survivable cancers often have rapid disease progression and experience severe symptoms. Around 70% of pancreatic cancer patients receive no active treatment; many are too unwell or diagnosed too late.

Specialist symptom management and supportive care must be expanded to reduce emergency admissions and improve quality of life, yet the NHS cannot currently deliver this. Less survivable cancers must have their own section in the national cancer plan. Advanced treatments such as CAR T-cell therapy for leukaemia are not available everywhere due to a lack of trained staff and infrastructure, resulting in a postcode lottery for lifesaving treatment. The Government must invest in training, especially in primary care, and increase specialist training places in radiology and oncology, as called for by the Royal College of Radiologists. The Government must also end recruitment freezes. On research, only 12% of brain tumour patients have taken part in a clinical trial, and 42% say they were never informed about opportunities to be part of a trial. Investment is needed in research, nurses, radiographers and infrastructure, as well as in embedding research into routine care and protecting staff time to deliver trials.

The Royal College of Radiologists is clear that delays caused by staffing gaps are endangering patients. Without investment, waiting times will lengthen, treatment delays will worsen and costs will rise. I hope it is clear to all of us that workforce shortfalls are a massive barrier to early diagnosis and effective, timely treatment across all cancers. The Government must increase recruitment, training and retention, support primary care referrals, invest in diagnostic infrastructure and education, guarantee access to clinical nurse specialists and prioritise support for patients with less-survivable cancers. Those steps must underpin the national cancer plan and the 10-year workforce plan. Lives depend upon it.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Clive Jones]

I thank you, Mrs Hobhouse, and the Minister for leaving me time to sum up the debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for her contribution and her kind remarks, and I thank other Members for their kind remarks as well. I thank all hon. Members who have contributed so much to today’s debate, each having special stories to tell about the areas they represent. All of them are fantastic campaigners for the cancer community.

We can all agree with the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon): we all hate cancer. In fact, I am sure everybody in this room today hates cancer.

[Dr Caroline Johnson]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Clive Jones]

I will make some progress.

I must also say a big thank you to all the cancer charities and life sciences companies that have provided valuable insight into the state of the NHS workforce and its effect on cancer patients. The impact of NHS workforce levels on cancer patients is a serious topic that needs to be discussed, and the experience of patients needs to be highlighted. Today has raised key demands for the Government to address.

The Government must increase endoscopy and pathology capacity. They should audit and invest in phlebotomy services, as called for by Leukaemia UK and the Royal College of General Practitioners. They also need to establish a national register of phlebotomy sites. The Government need to provide targeted support for the most deprived areas of the country, which are under immense pressure, and they need to replace doctors who they know are likely to retire in the next few years.

The Government must up their game on cancer. They have been left a very difficult legacy, with no money and no enthusiasm to change the way we deal with cancer, which is a really sad indictment of the previous Conservative Government. Finally, the Government must increase recruitment, training and retention; support primary care referrals; invest in diagnostic infrastructure and education; guarantee access to clinical nurse specialists; and prioritise support for patients with less survivable cancers.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the impact of NHS workforce levels on cancer patients.

NHS 10-Year Plan

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I thank my hon. Friend for his service to our country and our NHS. We are so lucky to have his expertise in the House. I am really proud that this Government will deliver mental health support in every primary and secondary school in the country and neighbourhood mental health services in every community. We will also ensure that people who are in mental health crisis do not end up in busy, noisy, overwhelming A&E departments, but will instead go to new mental health emergency departments, which we aim to roll out across 50% of type 1 A&E departments—either co-located or, if not, certainly nearby. I look forward to working with him on that.

My hon. Friend is quite right to emphasise the importance of talking therapies. That is how we not only help people to achieve their best when they are young and in education, but ensure that people are supported to stay in the world of work or to find work. We know there is a demonstrable link between mental health and wellbeing, good work and good outcomes. That is very relevant this week.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s 10-year plan. In October, in response to my Westminster Hall debate on the national cancer plan, the Government committed to publishing one later this year. I am confident that that will happen in the autumn, and the wider cancer community is equally enthusiastic. However, the 10-year plan announced today makes only a brief mention of the national cancer plan. Can the Secretary of State confirm that improved diagnosis, improved screening for at-risk groups, improved treatment outcomes, concentration on rare cancers and cancers in young people, better and continued workforce planning, more support and funding for research, better relationships with drug companies and much more will be part of the national cancer plan?

[Wes Streeting]

I thought for a moment there that the hon. Gentleman, having called for the plan, was going to write it. I can reassure him that he has covered all the right areas; I am delighted that he is as enthusiastic as we and the whole cancer community are about the plan. We deliberately did not go into specific conditions in the 10-year plan for health, because otherwise it would have turned into a Christmas tree, with every condition group trying to attach its bauble to it, but it is really important that this 10-year plan creates the rising tide that lifts all ships—including, as he notes, not just common conditions, but the rare ones too.

Rare Cancers Bill

Clive Jones Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 2nd July 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Ashley Dalton]

I should clarify that there is no regional specificity in the allocation of research funding. We welcome all funding bids for research on cancer and rare cancers from anywhere in the country, and I encourage them to come forward.

The new power in clause 3 to allow patient data from NHS England information systems to be shared will allow more patients to be contacted about existing trials. Practically, it will allow us to join up data from the national disease registration service with “Be Part of Research”. As I have said, we are encouraging people to bring forward more research proposals, all of which are considered.

For the first time, patients with a rare cancer could be automatically contacted about research opportunities that are relevant to them and offered innovative new treatments, which means rare cancer patients could have access to research at their fingertips. That is the kind of change that the Government support as part of the shift we are making from analogue to digital—one of the three shifts that will be covered in the 10-year plan that will be launched tomorrow, when more details will become clear.

Clause 4 covers the Bill’s territorial extent. Due to practical and legal differences between the nations, the devolved Governments did not wish to legislate in their individual countries. Our manifesto promised to reset our relationship with the devolved Governments, and we have developed the Bill with them. I am delighted that they expressed their support on Second Reading. Clauses 5 and 6 cover the Bill’s commencement and title. The Government are fully committed to supporting the Bill through the next stages so it can become the Rare Cancers Act 2025.

The shadow Minister talked about the national cancer plan, which I can confirm is being worked on. We have had over 11,000 representations on that plan, which will be published later this year, following the publication of the national 10-year plan for health tomorrow. The children and young people cancer taskforce was launched earlier this year and continues to meet, and has now ensured that young people and children’s voices are part of the taskforce.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

When the national cancer strategy is published, I hope that part of it will focus on boosting the survival rates for rare cancers. Will the Minister confirm that that will be an important part of the strategy?

[Ashley Dalton]

I can confirm that the overall objective of the whole cancer plan will be saving lives and reducing the number of lives lost to cancer, including rare cancers. The plan will be published later this year.

It is important to note that the Bill is specific to cancer; there will be opportunities to discuss other rare conditions in the future. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West for presenting the Bill, and I pay tribute to the charities that are backing him, some of which I had the pleasure to meet recently to discuss further how the Government can better support people with rare cancers. Together, we will improve outcomes for people across our country, and I look forward to working with everybody to get that done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Clive Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Just as this Government are delivering record home building with a huge target to build the homes that Britain needs, we also need to ensure that people get the local services that they deserve. That is exactly why this Government have invested an extra £102 million this year to create additional clinical space in over 1,000 GP practices, which will create new consultation rooms and make better use of existing space to deliver more appointments. I know the Chineham medical practice was one of the practices put forward by its integrated care board for funding, so I hope we will see that practice benefiting from this investment in the near future as we rebuild our NHS.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

The Government’s additional roles reimbursement scheme led to just three new GPs for my constituents in Wokingham, which is a drop in the ocean. More needs to be done to deliver GP practices in new developments such as Arborfield in south Wokingham. Why did Ministers not support the Liberal Democrat amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that would have made commitments to build GP surgeries in all new housing developments legally binding?

Prostate Cancer Treatment

Clive Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Joe Biden’s recent diagnosis has to some extent put prostate cancer in the spotlight of late, but it is not just him—there is Stephen Fry, Jools Holland and Robert De Niro. More than 50,000 men in the UK and 1.4 million men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer yearly, which is projected to double by 2040. With one in eight men diagnosed during their life, it is the most common male cancer. More than half of those men are pre-retirement age, such as the cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, who was diagnosed at 48, but 70-plus is the most common age.

My late dad was 69 when he was diagnosed. He left this earth just shy of his 79th birthday in August 2014, so he had 10 years. It is often said that men die with prostate cancer, not of it. With my dad, it spread to bone cancer, but pneumonia was actually the cause of death on the certificate. I miss him every day.

Treatment for prostate cancer has improved dramatically since then. One crucial breakthrough is the development of the drug abiraterone, a Great British success story discovered and initially developed in London at the Institute of Cancer Research. It is a shining example of British science leading the world and revolutionising advanced prostate cancer care.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Will the hon. Member reiterate a question that I have for the Minister? Specifically, given that abiraterone is already approved for use in Scotland and Wales, what action is the Minister taking to ensure that men in England are not disadvantaged in accessing lifesaving cancer treatments?

[Dr Huq]

The hon. Member reads my mind about the postcode lottery, which I will come to in my list of questions. I know that my hon. Friend the Minister is very sympathetic and on the right side.

Abiraterone is now a global drug. Half a million men around the world have had transformed outcomes, improved quality of life and extra years spent with loved ones.