Oral Answers to Questions

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Tuesday 7th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right—health tourism is a major cost to the taxpayer, so it is important that we establish that people are entitled to care. However, it is important to ensure that people without proof of ID and of residence are still entitled to healthcare. Where someone is not entitled to it, we will, of course, pursue them for payment.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

2. What funding his Department plans to allocate to radiotherapy services in the next five years.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock)]

Our radiotherapy modernisation programme has so far delivered 80 upgrades or replacements, with more to come.

[Grahame Morris]

One in four people currently receive radiotherapy—a number that will increase if the Government achieve their early diagnosis targets. Ministers dispute that 20,000 people in England annually miss out on appropriate access to life-saving radiotherapy. What is the Secretary of State’s estimate? Will he commit to meeting representatives of the Radiotherapy4Life campaign to discuss how we can improve radiotherapy provision in England?

[Matt Hancock]

I am absolutely happy to meet the group. According to the latest figures, about four in 10 of all cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy; it is a critical treatment to tackle cancer. As I say, there has been an investment programme to replace and upgrade radiotherapy equipment, with 80 upgrades or replacements over the past three years, but there is clearly more to do to make sure that people with cancer get the best possible treatment.