Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the recruitment freezes on cancer and diagnostic departments.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department has not made a formal assessment, but the development of the National Cancer Plan has highlighted areas where there are higher vacancy rates in some areas of the country. The Department and NHS England will work with the royal colleges to encourage resident doctors and internal medicine trainees to specialise in clinical and medical oncology, where possible, to address these pressures.
In addition, there were more doctors working in clinical oncology and more radiology doctors in October 2025 compared to October 2024. In 2025, NHS England provided grant funding, of £441,000, to the Royal College of Radiologists to encourage foundation and internal medicine trainees to specialise in clinical oncology. This work is currently ongoing to recruit priority medical specialties including clinical oncologists, medical oncologists, and clinical radiologists. NHS England increased medical training places significantly in 2021 and has sustained these, with fluctuations, since.
Through these interventions, patients will see improvements now, and these training places will secure the workforce for the future. Where there are shortages or local challenges, decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. Trusts must manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
The Department has committed to the NHS meeting all cancer waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament, ending a decade of missed targets.
This can be achieved through our aim to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 though the Government’s £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics and ensuring as many community diagnostic centres as possible are fully operational and open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the workforce capacity in cancer and diagnostic services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department has not made a formal assessment, but the development of the National Cancer Plan has highlighted areas where there are higher vacancy rates in some areas of the country. The Department and NHS England will work with the royal colleges to encourage resident doctors and internal medicine trainees to specialise in clinical and medical oncology, where possible, to address these pressures.
In addition, there were more doctors working in clinical oncology and more radiology doctors in October 2025 compared to October 2024. In 2025, NHS England provided grant funding, of £441,000, to the Royal College of Radiologists to encourage foundation and internal medicine trainees to specialise in clinical oncology. This work is currently ongoing to recruit priority medical specialties including clinical oncologists, medical oncologists, and clinical radiologists. NHS England increased medical training places significantly in 2021 and has sustained these, with fluctuations, since.
Through these interventions, patients will see improvements now, and these training places will secure the workforce for the future. Where there are shortages or local challenges, decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. Trusts must manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
The Department has committed to the NHS meeting all cancer waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament, ending a decade of missed targets.
This can be achieved through our aim to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 though the Government’s £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics and ensuring as many community diagnostic centres as possible are fully operational and open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help recruit in clinical oncology and radiology.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department has not made a formal assessment, but the development of the National Cancer Plan has highlighted areas where there are higher vacancy rates in some areas of the country. The Department and NHS England will work with the royal colleges to encourage resident doctors and internal medicine trainees to specialise in clinical and medical oncology, where possible, to address these pressures.
In addition, there were more doctors working in clinical oncology and more radiology doctors in October 2025 compared to October 2024. In 2025, NHS England provided grant funding, of £441,000, to the Royal College of Radiologists to encourage foundation and internal medicine trainees to specialise in clinical oncology. This work is currently ongoing to recruit priority medical specialties including clinical oncologists, medical oncologists, and clinical radiologists. NHS England increased medical training places significantly in 2021 and has sustained these, with fluctuations, since.
Through these interventions, patients will see improvements now, and these training places will secure the workforce for the future. Where there are shortages or local challenges, decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. Trusts must manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
The Department has committed to the NHS meeting all cancer waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament, ending a decade of missed targets.
This can be achieved through our aim to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 though the Government’s £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics and ensuring as many community diagnostic centres as possible are fully operational and open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote NHS innovation in genomics.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The ambitions set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan, together with the 10-Year Health Plan, will enable the United Kingdom to remain firmly at the forefront of the genomics revolution by driving large-scale preventative care and enabling world-class research. A thriving life sciences sector reinforces the UK’s unique position as the place to discover, test, and roll out genomic innovations that drive better health for all. The Government has committed to investing more than £650 million over five years in Genomics England, up to £354 million in Our Future Health, and up to £20 million in UK BioBank, to ensure that, by 2030, the UK will lead globally in health data and genomics research.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote NHS innovation in liquid biopsies.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to funding innovative technologies, including multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests such as liquid biopsies, to improve early cancer diagnosis rates for cancer patients in the National Health Service. The Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals programme is providing funding for a National Institute for Health and Care Research led trial to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of MCD tests in primary care for patients presenting with non-specific abdominal symptoms. The programme has also provided £2.35 million of funding to support the research and development of the miONCO-Dx multi-cancer early detection test, which can identify 12 of the most lethal and common cancers at even the earliest stages of the disease course.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote NHS innovation in robotics.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Robotics is one of the Department’s 10-Year Health Plan’s five "big bets” and by supporting the innovation pipeline from research through to adoption we aim to stimulate greater innovation and more rapid delivery of these technologies for improved patient outcomes and an improved health system.
To support adoption, our 10-Year Health Plan commits to expand surgical robot adoption over the next decade, support National Health Service trusts to increase robotic process automation, and scale the use of robots in pharmacy. We have also committed to establishing national registries for robotic surgery data from 2029 and to developing telesurgery networks. Earlier this year, NHS England published the first national guidance for the implementation of robotic assisted surgery (RAS) in the NHS, offering guidance on procurement, commissioning, implementation, training, and evaluation. A national steering committee is already in place to support the adoption of RAS, ensure safe implementation, and to oversee the training requirements for surgeons and surgical teams. The NHS aims to increase the number of robotic-assisted procedures to 500,000 by 2035, up from 70,000 in 2023/24.
The Department supports innovation in NHS robotics research by funding the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and its NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Devices, Digital and Robotics, which is one of fourteen HRCs. This centre supports safe, effective, and efficient translation of new healthcare technologies, such as robotics, into routine care for NHS patients and follow-on social care.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote NHS innovation in nano surgery.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan and Life Sciences Sector Plan, the Department encourages innovation in the health sector that helps to support the three big shifts in healthcare: moving care from hospitals to communities; transitioning from analogue to digital; and focusing on prevention over treatment.
The Department is actively supporting the development and evaluation of game-changing innovations as well as the adoption of technologies to give our world leading clinicians the technology and skills to improve outcomes for patients.
Improving innovation, adoption, and procurement of game-changing technology, including nano surgery, will help the National Health Service secure the best possible outcomes for patients whilst also delivering greater value-for-money and unlocking further economic growth. In addition, the National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As well as funding research directly through NIHR programmes, the Department also funds NIHR infrastructure which are centres of excellence and collaborations, services, and facilities to support health and care research.
The NIHR research infrastructure drives innovation through research across a range of health and care areas, including nano surgery. For example, the Surgical and Perioperative Care Translational Research Collaboration brings together NIHR infrastructure to develop new surgical interventions, improving patient safety and patient care before and after surgery.
The NIHR HealthTech Research Centres (HRCs) work with industry to develop medical devices, diagnostics, and digital technologies. The NIHR Accelerated Surgical Care HRC’s focus is on minimally invasive therapies which enable surgical care to be delivered with greater precision, minimal trauma, and improved outcomes.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to change the current bed capacity in the NHS across England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In September, there were an average of 100,615 general and acute beds open across all acute trusts in England, 93,553 of which were occupied, a 93% occupancy rate.
Decisions regarding the opening of additional beds to manage pressures are made locally by individual National Health Service trusts, in accordance with their operational requirements. The Department does not direct these decisions centrally.
The 10-Year Health Plan aims to expand urgent care capacity through Neighbourhood Health Services and virtual wards, enabling patients to receive care closer to home where clinically appropriate and easing pressure on hospitals. In addition, investment in digital tools will improve patient flow and further reduce reliance on inpatient beds.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current bed capacity is in the NHS across England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In September, there were an average of 100,615 general and acute beds open across all acute trusts in England, 93,553 of which were occupied, a 93% occupancy rate.
Decisions regarding the opening of additional beds to manage pressures are made locally by individual National Health Service trusts, in accordance with their operational requirements. The Department does not direct these decisions centrally.
The 10-Year Health Plan aims to expand urgent care capacity through Neighbourhood Health Services and virtual wards, enabling patients to receive care closer to home where clinically appropriate and easing pressure on hospitals. In addition, investment in digital tools will improve patient flow and further reduce reliance on inpatient beds.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many virtual wards there are in the NHS across England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In October 2025, there were 12,588 virtual ward beds across England, with 10,049 being occupied by patients.
Whilst there is currently no specific national target for the number of virtual ward beds, the NHS England 2025/26 operational planning guidance includes a priority to improve access to care services at home or in the community, including virtual wards.