Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment it has made of the governance arrangements at the Royal Marsden Foundation Trust following reported concerns by external auditors about a £9 million donation it made to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Following this payment by Royal Marsden being brought to our attention by the auditors, the Government did not provide retrospective special payment approval for the grant.

The Department and NHS England are taking steps to recommunicate expectations to trusts that they are required to seek approval ahead of time, with the circumstances of each case being considered on a case-by-case basis.