Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that funding from the public purse is allocated to support the provision of adequate NHS staffing levels to (a) diagnose and (b) treat patients with cancer in the (i) short and (ii) long term.

‘We are the NHS: People Plan for 2020/2021 – action for us all’ sets out actions to support transformation across the whole National Health Service, including the following commitment on the cancer workforce:

In 2021, Health Education England is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 350 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology, and extending cancer support-worker training.

The 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review will set out the Government’s spending plans for health and social care for future years. The Government will set out the results of the Spending Review in due course.