Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve waiting times for cancer treatment in the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board following an urgent GP referral.

Cancer patients are being failed, waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment. The latest cancer waiting times data from NHS England shows Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board performance is below both the 31-day treatment standard and the 62-day diagnosis and treatment standard. This data is publicly available and can be accessed via NHS England’s website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/

The Department is committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England, including within the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment. Additionally, Lord Darzi is currently undertaking an independent investigation into the state of the National Health Service, the findings of which will feed into the government’s 10-year plan to build a health service that is fit for the future.