Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will review the method by which radiotherapy is funded in the UK to (a) increase access to treatments, (b) modernise equipment and (c) grow the specialist cancer workforce.

The NHS Long Term Plan committed to review the payment arrangements for radiotherapy, to ensure that appropriate incentives are in place to encourage providers to increase access to new treatments and techniques and upgrade and replace equipment.

While this has been delayed due to the pandemic and the temporary financial regime introduced to support the National Health Service response, it is expected to be completed during 2022/23. Each provider is responsible for ensuring it has the optimal workforce in place to deliver the service, balancing staff numbers, skills and technological innovations and allocating investment accordingly. This will be assisted by reforms to the payment model for radiotherapy.

To increase access to new treatments and techniques, NHS England and NHS Improvement have a ‘package price’ for stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) in place to ensure that trusts are reimbursed at a higher price for the treatment than under the National Tariff. With centrally funded external quality assurance and clinical mentoring arrangements, every NHS radiotherapy provider in England has established a local SABR service.