Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK does not fall behind other countries in access to innovative treatments for secondary breast cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. To enable rapid access for NHS patients to new and effective life-extending treatments, NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the point of licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund the use of NICE approved cancer medicines. NICE has recommended 24 out of the 25 breast cancer treatments it has assessed since April 2018. These medicines are now available to NHS patients in England.

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention and research. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Research and innovation are key focuses of the National Cancer Plan. The plan will look to build on the success of our life sciences sector and projects such as the NHS cancer vaccine launch pad, and will also consider the ways that we can accelerate the uptake of innovative, life-saving treatments so all NHS patients can benefit.

The plan is due to be published later this year and will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.