Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many radiotherapy LINAC machines will be over the recommended 10-year lifespan by the end of (a) 2023, (b) 2024, and (c) 2025 in Crawley constituency.

Data on radiotherapy linear accelerator (LINAC) machines is not held at constituency level. 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 National Health Service between 2022 and 2025.

Recent Capital Planning Guidance sets out the expectation that the majority of radiotherapy equipment, particularly LINAC machines, will need to be replaced at ten years of age, to make progress on Long Term Plan priorities. The guidance states that integrated care systems (ICSs) need to develop replacement plans as part of their multi-year capital plans, in partnership with specialised commissioners, Cancer Alliances and Radiotherapy Operational Delivery Networks, based on an assessment of equipment age, capacity and demand, opportunities to improve access, and service risk.