Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce shortages in the NHS breast cancer workforce and (b) increase the capacity of breast cancer services.

Health Education England and NHS England provided £81 million of investment in 2022/23 to support increased capacity and capability in the cancer and diagnostics workforce, many of whom will support breast cancer pathways.

To increase capacity of breast cancer services, the Government provided £10 million of funding for 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 life-saving upgrades to services in the areas where they are most needed, so more women can be checked for signs of cancer. NHS England is also funding a new clinical audit on breast cancer to provide evidence to increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.

In addition, the Government has committed to publishing the Long-Term Workforce Plan which will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future. This Plan is due to be published shortly.