Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to include provisions for radiotherapy cancer treatment in the upcoming National Cancer Plan.

The Government has announced that the National Cancer Plan (NCP) will be published this year, following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan. We are now in discussions about what form it should take, including how we will ensure that cancer patients across England have access to the latest treatments and technology.

It is a priority for the Government to improve cancer outcomes, optimise cancer treatments and technologies, and reduce waiting times. The Department is committed to supporting the National Health Service to diagnose cancer as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England.

To ensure the most advanced radiotherapy treatment is available to patients, the Department recently invested £70 million in 28 new radiotherapy machines. We are committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England and aim to ensure that no one is waiting longer than they should for lifesaving treatment. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, helping to ensure earlier diagnoses and faster treatment for those who need it most, providing better outcomes for cancer patients.