National Cancer Plan

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, I must declare my interests in palliative care over the years. I will not list them all now, but I had the pleasure of working on the palliative care commission under the chairmanship of Sir Mike Richards. From speaking to him, I am glad to learn that he will have a role in the modern service framework.

My concern about chapter 4 is that action 7 seems to compound palliative care with end-of-life care. It does not recognise the benefit of someone receiving interventions early. It has been shown that patients benefit maximally from having at least three months of involvement with palliative care, rather than it coming in too little too late. Therefore, when we have integrated services in a cancer centre, time is allowed for a recurrence—when there is a crisis—to be dealt with immediately, rather than patients going home and being told, “Oh, you will see somebody later”. You have to be on the spot and you have to be available 24/7. I hope that there will be recognition that palliative care services save money.

I was glad to see that that the RIPEL study in Oxford was referred to. I ask the Minister whether she recognises the figures that have come from Hull York which show that, where you have fully integrated specialist palliative care services, you can save about £800 million a year by avoiding wasted interventions. I should declare an interest in that I have a young family member with an extremely rare cancer.

I also hope that the Minister will be able to provide reassurance that the speedy processes for modern and semi-experimental treatments will be available much more rapidly because, at the moment, many patients are having to pay privately through fundraising schemes because there are treatments that are emerging but are not yet available on the NHS.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am sorry to hear about the member of the noble Baroness’s family.

To the point about treatment, by 2028, every cancer patient will have access to a personal cancer care plan via the NHS app. Tailoring treatment and support through the whole care journey is important, including before the care journey starts. It will be a complete innovation that we are not talking about rehabilitation but what we are now calling “prehabilitation”, to support people.

We are also investing £80 million in four new NHS aseptic medicine production hubs, which will be operational by next year, to increase the supply of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, using advanced automation.

To the points about hospices and palliative care, for some, treatment is not enough; it is about the timely and proactive availability of palliative and end-of-life care. That is what is going to make the difference to their quality of life. We are working with the royal colleges to deliver enhanced levels of care, known as acute and supportive oncology, to consistent standards, and that will integrate palliative and end-of-life care while supporting clinicians to provide the best treatment. We are delivering the biggest investment in hospices in a generation—some £100 million to upgrade buildings, facilities and digital systems.