Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the amount of financial support available (a) for families of children and young people with cancer and (b) to cover the additional costs that families of children and young people with cancer incur due to additional (i) travel, (ii) energy, (iii) accommodation and (iv) dietary requirements.

The Department has not made a formal assessment of the adequacy of the amount of financial support available for families of children and young people with cancer. There are currently no plans for the Department to make a formal assessment on the potential merits of providing financial support to children and young people with cancer that must undertake cross-border travel to receive treatment. However, the Government is committed to putting patients first and providing speedy and high-quality care, irrespective of where patients are treated in the United Kingdom. The Government is working with the devolved administrations to deliver this.

NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of local communities in England are met, including for children and young people with cancer. The National Health Service in England runs schemes to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital, or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. This includes the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS), which provides financial assistance to patients who do not have a medical need for transport, but who require assistance with the costs of travelling to receive certain NHS services. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payment. Currently, there are no national schemes in place for families of children and young people with cancer to support with the costs associated with energy, accommodation, or dietary requirements.