Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of Clinical Commissioning Groups to improve access to advanced radiotherapy.

Clinical commissioning groups are not responsible for ensuring access to advanced radiotherapy techniques, such as Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). The commissioning of all radiotherapy in England is the responsibility of NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning team. Access to IMRT is monitored against a national average access standard of 25%, performance against this standard is consistently around 45%. From April 2019, Radiotherapy Networks, working in close partnership with Specialised Commissioners and Cancer Alliances, will play a key role in increasing access to both advanced and innovative radiotherapy, as well as ensuring adherence to best practice treatment protocols.