Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for treatments for (a) breast, (b) ovarian and (c) prostate cancer.

Reducing waiting times for treatments of all types of cancer is a priority for the Government, as is increasing early cancer diagnosis as this is a key contributor to reducing cancer health inequalities. We are expanding capacity through our community diagnostic centres (CDCs) supported by £2.3 billion of capital funding with 150 CDCs currently operational and having delivered over six million additional tests, checks and scans including vital cancer checks since January 2021.

The planned Major Conditions Strategy will look at the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer and will consider a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for a range of cancer patients, including those less survivable cancers.

NHS England has commissioned six cancer clinical audits which will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients, including ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer and primary and metastatic breast cancer. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022, and the first outcomes expected in September 2024.