Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on cancer waiting times.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the National Health Service faced significant pressures as it responded to patient demand from COVID-19 cases. The action taken to free up capacity included the postponement of non-urgent elective treatment while protecting urgent services.

However, during the pandemic, key waiting times were at maintained at pre-pandemic levels. From March to July 2020, over 91% of people referred urgently were seen by a consultant within two weeks - the same as in March to July 2019 - and 95% of people started a first treatment for cancer within a month of a decision to treat, compared to 96% in March to July 2019.