Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS Trusts have the necessary funding and trained staff to deliver minimally invasive cancer therapies.

The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number and availability of minimally invasive cancer treatments, into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and the 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 NICE.

Where treatments are approved by the NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the NHS 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.

We are committed to training the staff we need to get patients seen on time. The Government will make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it, including cancer patients.