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 reasons why NHS Trusts are not currently meeting the 31-day cancer waiting time standard.

No assessment has been made of the reasons why some National Health Service trusts are not currently meeting the 31-day and 62-day cancer waiting time standards, however we know that patients are waiting too long for cancer treatment. We will get the NHS diagnosing cancer earlier, treating it faster, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system.

As we set out in our new plan for reforming elective care, we are committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times. Further details will be set out in a dedicated national cancer plan and the NHS’s annual operational planning guidance.