Oral Answers to Questions

Paulette Hamilton Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken for cancer diagnoses.

[Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)]

20. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken for cancer diagnoses.

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

Reducing waiting times for cancer diagnosis remains a key priority. Under this Government, an extra 99,000 patients have had cancer diagnosed or ruled out. This has been supported by investment, including in Cancer 360—a digital innovation that brings patient data into one central platform—and in NHS England’s cancer innovation open call to fast-track cutting-edge interventions into practice. Our forthcoming national cancer plan will set out how we will speed up cancer diagnosis even further.

[Karin Smyth]

I am delighted that my hon. Friend’s constituents will benefit from the £70 million investment. These machines are game changing and will reduce the number of visits for his constituents. They are also more reliable, which gives more capacity to the system. That is better for staff, as there will be less appointment cancellations. That is exactly the sort of thing we want to see more of, and we are delivering that under this Government. It is the result of our drive to reduce long waits and treat more people quicker. That was reinforced in last week’s spending review, and it is exactly what his constituents deserve.

[Paulette Hamilton]

Early diagnosis of less survivable cancers is vital if survival rates are to improve. What assessment has the Department made of the report by the all-party parliamentary group on less survivable cancers that looks at earlier detection and faster diagnosis, and what steps are the Department taking to deliver on this?

[Karin Smyth]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight that issue. I commend her great work not just on the APPG but on leading the Health and Social Care Committee on behalf of its Chair, the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran). She is right to highlight that it is a priority for the Government to diagnose cancers earlier and improve survival rates. That is particularly important for the group of people with rare cancers. The APPG’s report will inform the development of our national cancer plan, which will seek to include all aspects of care throughout the entirety of the cancer pathway.