Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made against the commitment to start data collection for all patients for the new faster diagnosis standard and to start ramping up performance as additional diagnostic capacity comes online; and if he will make a statement.

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plan over the summer. NHS England and NHS Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.

We will begin introducing a new faster diagnosis standard from 2020 to ensure most patients receive a definitive diagnosis or ruling out of cancer within 28 days of referral from a general practitioner or from screening.

As set out in the NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance 2019/20, all providers must start collecting mandatory data items for the 28-day faster diagnosis standard cohorts this year and, working through their Cancer Alliance, use the data to improve time to diagnosis, in particular for lung, prostate and colorectal cancers, before the standard is introduced in 2020.