Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that the National Equipment Tracking and Inventory System highlights radiotherapy cancer treatment machines that are over 10 years old; and if he will ensure that sufficient capital funding is available to replace those machines.

The Department can confirm that the National Equipment Tracking and Inventory System highlights radiotherapy cancer treatment machines within the National Health Service, as well as their associated ages.

Since April 2022 the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines sits with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS for 2022 to 2025, and the latest Capital Planning Guidance.