Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of geographic variation in access to tissue-freezing services; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable access to advanced treatments, accurate genome sequencing and research participation.

Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.

Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh, or the snap-freezing of, tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.

It is important that everyone, regardless of where they live, can access the latest innovations in the health and care system through research. The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year in research through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR's investments for capital equipment, technology, and modular buildings supports NHS trusts across England to deliver high-quality research to improve the health of the population. This investment includes cutting edge research equipment and fixed assets such as ultra-low and cryogenic freezers, to strengthen research capacity and improve access to samples for research.

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.