National Cancer Plan

Ben Goldsborough Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ashley Dalton]

We listen to a lot of people on the need for a cancer plan. I want to take this opportunity to say that our friend Nathaniel Dye, who sadly died last week from stage 4 bowel cancer, challenged my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to bring forward a cancer plan when we were in opposition. The Secretary of State made that commitment, and we have brought forward the plan 18 months after coming into government.

The hon. Lady mentions the NHS app, which we understand is not necessarily relevant for people who are digitally excluded. One reason we are bringing that forward is to open up capacity within the rest of the system, so that those who can use digital tools can do so. That will free up capacity for the one-to-one, face-to-face support that many people need, but every cancer patient will get support under this plan, whether that is through the app or through their named lead clinical specialist in their neighbourhood, who will support them throughout the process, including after treatment. We are working with NHS England to identify the appropriate number of people for the cancer workforce, and we will be able to announce more about that as the workforce plan develops.

[Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)]

Three hundred and eighty-eight days ago, the words were uttered to me, “You have stage 2C skin cancer.” I have had 388 days of scans, operations and treatments that did not need to happen, because preventive care could have stopped me getting skin cancer. That is why today’s statement is so important. Action 30 in the plan focuses on melanomas and skin cancers, and it means a huge amount to me personally that the Government have taken this issue so seriously. My ask of the Government is that when we undertake the reviews into UV and preventive skincare, we should look at the examples of Australia and other countries that take this seriously, so that we can ensure that our young people and adults know how to stay safe in the sun.

[Ashley Dalton]

I commend my hon. Friend for the work that he is doing in this area while going through treatment for skin cancer. Action 30 is really important, and we are also committing in this plan to tackling under-age sunbed use. We are committing to look at what more we can do to combat dangerous sunbed use, and to promote prevention when it comes to skincare in the sun. We will explore what more we can do about that, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to do so.