Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current average waiting time is from referral to treatment for prostate cancer patients in each NHS trust.

We recognise that there is more to be done to ensure that patients have timely access to diagnosis and treatment, and we remain committed to diagnosing all cancer types earlier, including prostate cancer.

The Government has invested £16 million towards the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial, which is seeking to find ways to catch prostate cancer in men as early as possible.

The Department will publish a National Cancer Plan which will include details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients in England, speed up diagnosis and treatment, and ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. Having consulted with key stakeholders and patient groups, the plan will be published early in the new year.

Information on the current average waiting time from referral to treatment for prostate cancer in each National Health Service trust is not held centrally. However, we do publish data on the number of people receiving treatment for cancer, broken down by cancer type and including prostate cancer, compared to the 62-day standard. This data is published monthly, and a copy of the latest publication is attached.