National Cancer Plan

Josh Newbury Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ashley Dalton]

Yes, we are aware of that. We are looking at the existing metrics and at what we can do to improve them to ensure that they are actually making a difference to people’s outcomes.

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

In welcoming the national cancer plan, I want to pay tribute to my phenomenal Auntie Hillary, who passed away in September 2020. A GP practice manager, her selfless focus on ensuring that her elderly and vulnerable patients were okay during the first lockdown meant that she put off getting the early symptoms of her own cancer checked out; she got rapid treatment, but sadly it was too late. Will my incredible hon. Friend confirm that the direction and investment set out in this plan will ensure that hundreds of thousands of families a year will be celebrating all-clears, not mourning losses?

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and offer my condolences on the loss of his Auntie Hillary. Yes, this plan is designed to ensure that an extra 320,000 people at the end of the course of the plan will have had their lives saved or be living well with cancer after their five-year diagnosis. We want to make sure that everybody gets that opportunity, regardless of where they live.