Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what work his Department does with cancer charities to support children and young people with cancer.

Charities with an interest in children’s cancer services are involved in the ongoing work that NHS England performs through the Clinical Reference Groups (CRG) to provide a key role in major cancer improvements. For example, the Teenage Cancer Trust is represented on the Teenage and Young Adults CRG and CLIC Sargent and the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group support the Children’s Cancer CRG.

NHS England also works with the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group on treatment guidelines that are used across cancer services.

Public Health England and Departmental officials also work with stakeholders from charities with an interest in children’s cancer services. For example, earlier this year officials met with representatives of The Brain Tumour Charity to discuss the Headsmart campaign, which aims to raise awareness of brain tumour symptoms in children and young people and to reduce the time for diagnosis.

As a result of this meeting, the charity gave a presentation about the HeadSmart campaign to the Department’s School Nursing Partnership Implementation Group on 17 March. The group was receptive and committed to help promote and support the campaign, which included disseminating symptom cards where appropriate and putting information in newsletters and journals.