Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce waiting times for NHS hospital appointments for cancer patients in Sutton Coldfield constituency.

There is an ongoing improvement programme focussing on the main cancer waiting time standards and pathways across Birmingham and Solihull. This, along with a number of initiatives funded by the West Midlands Cancer Alliance and transformation funding, aims to improve waiting times and patient experience and includes:

- introduction of the Faecal Immunochemical Test for bowel cancer screening; and

- implementation of a vague symptom pathway through a Rapid Diagnostic Centre.

Weekly oversight and assurance meetings are led by the Chief Operating Officer of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust with all specialities attending. NHS Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group continues to meet with the Trust each month to explore all avenues, including developing a trajectory for improving performance and waiting times.