Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the continuation of services for cancer patients during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Cancer Recovery Taskforce is overseeing the development of the cancer recovery plan and reviewing progress against objectives including considering any impact of a second wave of COVID-19. The plan will be published shortly. The Taskforce met for the first time in September and will continue to do so on a monthly basis. Membership of the Taskforce is drawn from across the cancer community to coordinate and share expertise and ultimately enable progress towards the successful recovery of cancer services.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s priorities for recovering cancer services are increasing urgent cancer referrals, reducing the number of patients waiting longer than 62 and 104 days for treatments or diagnostics, and ensuring capacity is in place for patients returning to the system in winter.