Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 41044 on Radiotherapy, by how much the National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024-2025 was underspent; how much of the total 2024-2025 settlement was allocated for radiotherapy equipment; whether the £15 million additional funds were in addition to the 2024-2025 radiotherapy equipment settlement; and how much has been allocated from the 2025-2026 capital settlement for new radiotherapy equipment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024/25 underspend figure is not yet available, although it should be included in the NHS’s annual accounts, which will be published later this year.
£15 million was allocated from capital underspend to replace ageing radiotherapy equipment, as per the answer I gave on 7 April 2025 to Question 41044. Any other spending on radiotherapy equipment was allocated at local level, and we do not hold details on this spend.
£70 million of central capital funding was announced as part of the Autumn Budget in 2024, which will be used to replace 28 machines during 2025/26.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new radiotherapy machines were applied for from the funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2024; and which hospital trusts applied.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31 trusts submitted applications for funding to replace a total of 40 machines, with some trusts having applied to replace two machines. This became 30 trusts after the North Middlesex University Hospital Trust joined the Royal Free London Group on 1 January 2025, during the application process. Each trust had submitted a separate request.
Of the 30 trusts that submitted applications, two withdrew their applications, namely the Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, having received funding for a replacement machine from National Health Service capital underspend. University Hospitals Birmingham did receive a contribution from this funding towards the refurbishment of its radiotherapy bunker infrastructure.
The 28 trusts that submitted applications, and who have been awarded funding to replace one machine, are as follows:
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to the emergency radiotherapy capital equipment fund in 2024-25; and which hospital trusts have been awarded that funding.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Providers were awarded a total of £15 million to replace ageing radiotherapy equipment from an underspend in the National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024/25. The providers who were allocated money, and the amount they were allocated, are as follows:
The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust received funding for two machines.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of private prosecution cases brought by the RSPCA under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not collate or record detailed data on individual private prosecutions, although some prosecutors may publish their own data separately. Therefore, it is not possible to provide data on the number of prosecutions which have been brought by the RSPCA under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
This Government recognises that greater transparency is needed in relation to private prosecutions, in order to improve confidence in the criminal justice system. This is why we have launched a public consultation on options to improve the oversight, regulation, and transparency of private prosecutors in the criminal justice system, which closes on 8 May. The consultation seeks respondents’ views on improvements to the available data on private prosecutors and the prosecutions they bring, and this includes prosecutions brought by the RSPCA.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he has provided to NHS England on maximising the the potential utilisation of artificial intelligence for radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific guidance has been provided to the National Health Service, however we expect that radiotherapy treatment centres will use all appropriate technology for treating patients, to ensure that they receive the best possible care. This includes the use of artificial intelligence where available.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to allow radiotherapy machines purchased by charities for hospitals to stop treating patients if charitable funds are not available to renew those machines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Only radiotherapy machines purchased with Government funds are eligible for replacement through Government funding. There are no plans to change this position.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time for cancer patients requiring radiotherapy treatment is before they commence that treatment in each region in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the data in this format. Data on cancer waiting times for specific treatments can be found on NHS England’s website, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which trusts have been granted linear particle accelerator renewal funds from the additional funding in the Autumn Budget 2024; what criteria was used by NHS England to make those awards; and whether trusts awarded those funds have to fund bunker modifications from their own budgets.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England will be writing to those trusts which have been allocated funding for a replacement machine soon. The allocation criteria focused on the age of the machine being replaced, the proportion of older machines in use within the trust, and the trust’s performance on radiotherapy. A small amount of the £70 million of funding has been made available to support refurbishment costs.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23294 on Radiotherapy Medical Equipment, what (a) guidelines, (b) regulations and (c) restrictions have been issued to trusts on the use of NHS England funding to purchase new radiotherapy machines; and whether NHS England has a database of radiotherapy machines including (i) installation and (ii) renewal dates.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Trusts were given a range of potential machines to purchase, and the use of these machines is the responsibility of the trust which houses the machine. Providers of National Health Service-funded radiotherapy services are required to submit a monthly return on their delivery of radiotherapy treatments, and this data is held in the Radiotherapy Data Set.
The National Equipment Tracking and Inventory System highlights radiotherapy cancer treatment machines within the NHS, as well as their associated ages.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 23296 on Radiotherapy Infrastructure, how NHS England plans to improve the treatment of cancer patients with radiotherapy without such an assessment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the treatment of cancer patients and reducing waiting times for those undergoing treatment. Further details of how we will do this will be set out in the National Cancer Plan.
We have launched a call for evidence, seeking contributions from individuals and organisations to help shape this plan, including ideas on how to improve treatment for those cancer patients receiving radiotherapy.
The call for evidence is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan