Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to secure funding for and expand access to minimally invasive cancer therapies approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence across NHS Trusts.

Both NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs) are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Where treatments are approved by NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the National Health Service is required to fund and make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.

During 2024/25, NHS England will continue to support all ICBs in integrating the planning and commissioning of suitable specialised services with their wider population-level commissioning responsibilities, in line with their individual timeline for delegation. Service Development Funding (SDF) is available to support Cancer Alliances to deliver the priorities set out in the 2024/25 NHS Operational Planning Guidance; £266 million in SDF is being provided to Cancer Alliances in 2024/25. Funding comprises two allocations: place-based, provided to all Alliances on a fair shares basis; and, targeted, provided to a selection of Alliances for agreed targeted projects. Cancer SDF is provided to Cancer Alliances via their lead ICBs to enable them to deliver on NHS-wide priorities for cancer, in line with their local delivery plans which are included in their funding agreement.