Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department made an assessment of trends in the levels of current waiting times for cancer treatment in NHS Humber and North Yorkshire and NHS West Yorkshire sub-ICBs prior to funding decisions for the forthcoming National Cancer Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment on the National Health Service, including in Humber and North Yorkshire and NHS West Yorkshire. The Government is investing an extra £26 billion in the NHS and opening up community diagnostic centres at evening and weekends, to help diagnose cancer earlier.

We have also invested £70 million of funding into new radiotherapy treatment machines to replace older, less efficient machines. These new machines are currently being rolled out to trusts throughout the country. These newer machines will reduce treatment times, boost productivity, and allow more patients to be seen over the same period.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.