Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that radiotherapy LINAC machines used in NHS Trusts are replaced once they go beyond their recommended 10-year lifespan; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of rolling replacement funding.

Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the National Health Service from 2022 to 2025.

Recent capital planning guidance sets out the expectation that the majority of radiotherapy equipment, particularly linear accelerator machines, will need to be replaced at 10 years of age, to make progress on NHS Long Term Plan priorities. The guidance states that integrated care systems 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.