Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered providing dedicated capital funding for new (a) MRI and (b) CT scanners for radiotherapy departments.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the reforms needed to return to the 18-week Referral to Treatment (RTT) constitutional standard by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. This will include ensuring the diagnostic capacity, such as magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners, required to deliver on the standard.

As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, capital spending is set to increase to £13.6 billion in 2025/26, representing record levels of capital investment into healthcare.

This settlement includes a £1.65 billion capital investment to fund new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners, and beds, supporting National Health Service performance across secondary and emergency care in 2025/26. Of this, £70 million will fund new radiotherapy machines to improve cancer treatment.

In addition, the Government is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26, enabling systems to allocate funding to local priorities such as replacement diagnostic and radiotherapy equipment.

All future spending commitments beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process.