Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to safeguard the provision of cancer care and treatment in the event of future outbreaks of covid-19.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s priorities for recovering cancer services are increasing urgent cancer referrals, reducing the number of patients waiting longer than 62 and 104 days for treatments or diagnostics, and ensuring capacity is in place for patients returning to the system in winter. The newly formed Cancer Recovery Taskforce will oversee the development of the cancer recovery plan and review progress against objectives, including considering any impact of a second wave of COVID-19.