Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they intend to provide to the National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers to be appointed under the Rare Cancers Act 2026, including (1) budget, and (2) number of full-time equivalent staff.

The Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act 2026 by ensuring that a National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers is appointed by summer 2026.

The National Specialty Lead will be based in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network (RDN) and will support research delivery for rare cancers research.

The National Specialty Lead will not directly manage a budget or full-time equivalent (FTE) staff direct reports. Instead, as part of the RDN’s Health and Care Leadership team, the National Specialty Lead will work closely with researchers to develop their national funding bids for rare cancers research and deliver strategic work supported by FTE staff across NIHR partners, including the RDN, NIHR Industry Hub, and NIHR Infrastructure.

Implementing the Rare Cancers Act 2026 will make it easier for clinical trials on rare cancers to be delivered in England.