Cancer (Reporting and Strategy) Bill

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Friday 13th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

At its heart, the Bill is about a simple principle: if the Government make commitments on cancer, Parliament and the public should be able to assess whether those commitments are being delivered. Cancer affects almost every family in this country. Nearly one in two people will receive a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime, and the number of cases continues to rise. More than 403,000 people are now diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK—that is around 1,100 diagnoses every day, or one person every 80 seconds.

For those people and the families who support them, cancer policy is not an abstract debate; it is about whether diagnoses are made early enough, whether treatment starts quickly enough, whether people survive, and whether they can live well after cancer.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for bringing this important debate to the House. I want to emphasise his point that early diagnosis is so important when it comes to cancer. My mother-in-law got an early diagnosis and had 12 years of living, and living well, with cancer, yet my father-in-law got a late diagnosis and only had 12 weeks. Does the hon. Member agree that this absolutely states the importance of early diagnosis to deal with cancer and have a life while living with cancer?

[Clive Jones]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right; early diagnosis is so important.

I know that from my own experience. I went to see a doctor and he said, “Men cannot get breast cancer, so off you go. Come back if anything changes.” Seven or eight months later I went back and I saw a different GP. He sent me for a test straightaway. The test happened very quickly—I was very lucky—but unfortunately in those six or seven months the cancer had spread from my breast to my lymph glands. I ended up having to have two operations and radiotherapy and chemotherapy. If I had gotten an earlier diagnosis, I might not have had to go through all that. That is true for an awful lot of people. I was lucky that the second GP sent me for a test. If I had waited another six months, I would not be taking part in this debate.

Accountability really matters. The national cancer plan contains important ambitions and commitments. The Government have committed to monitoring delivery through national oversight structures, including the National Cancer Board, and tackling progress against the plan’s objectives and performance measures. However, there is currently no clear commitment to publish a dedicated annual report to Parliament, no formal assessment of progress against every commitment within the plan, and no requirement to explain what action will be taken when progress falls behind schedule.

My Bill addresses those gaps. It would require annual reporting to Parliament on progress in preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. It would require the Government to publish and maintain the strategy for improving cancer outcomes—nothing more, nothing radical; simply transparency, scrutiny and accountability.

The Bill is supported by 64 cancer charities, with millions of supporters. Those 64 cancer charities have written to the Secretary of State urging her to support the Bill. Their message is clear:

“The Bill is practical, proportionate and uncontroversial. It creates no new rights or entitlements but instead provides a clear means for reporting progress and maintaining focus on delivery.”

The charities go on to say that it

“represents an invaluable opportunity to underpin the ambitions of the national cancer plan and demonstrate a long-term commitment to improving outcomes for cancer patients.”

When organisations representing patients, clinicians, researchers and families all speak with one voice, the House should listen. The need for greater accountability is informed by experience. We have learned that, without transparency and scrutiny, commitments made today can disappear tomorrow. Cancer patients deserve better than that.

Many Members will remember the work undertaken in 2022 on the Conservatives’ proposed 10-year cancer plan, when their Secretary of State declared war on cancer. Thousands of people contributed to that process, including patients, charities, NHS staff and researchers. Then, less than a year later, following yet another change of Secretary of State, the plan was abandoned. Time, momentum and years of engagement were lost and hope was wasted. Many people affected by cancer were left wondering what had happened to the promises that had been made to them. We cannot allow that to happen again.

People affected by cancer need confidence that commitments made today will survive the political changes of tomorrow. Perhaps this is a good point to remind the House that we have had seven Prime Ministers and nine Health Secretaries since 2015. This Bill would help provide that confidence.

--- Later in debate ---

[Clive Jones]

The hon. Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) did a fantastic job in producing the national cancer plan, and I am pleased that she has been appointed to the National Cancer Board, but I still think the Government should support this Bill.

I know that some people have questioned whether legislation is necessary, but I respectfully disagree. Action 21 of the national cancer plan already commits the Government to report on delivery. The Government already intend to monitor progress and track performance. This Bill does not create new bureaucracy, require extensive new structures or create significant additional work for civil servants. The Government already intend to collect the information; the Bill simply requires that the Secretary of State reports that information to Parliament, so that Members of this House can scrutinise progress on behalf of the people we represent.

If the Government are confident in their plans and the delivery of those plans, why would they object to the transparency of reporting on that progress? Cancer affects every constituency in this country. It affects families in Wokingham just as it affects families across England. Those affected by cancer often feel that they do not have a voice. This Bill would give Parliament the opportunity to speak for them.

I raised the Bill with the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s questions on 21 October. In response, he told me that he would ask the National Cancer Board to consider the accountability and reporting measures contained within the legislation. I welcomed that response, but we have heard nothing from the National Cancer Board. The Prime Minister has also said:

“I’ve always been somebody who puts my shoulder behind the fight against cancer”.

A few weeks ago, he sat down on “Gogglebox” to support cancer patients. Today was an opportunity for him to stand up for cancer patients and support my Bill. This legislation provides an opportunity to demonstrate that commitment in practice.

There is another important reason why accountability matters: the national cancer plan is the first cancer plan to contain a dedicated chapter on children and young people’s cancer. That is a really important step forward, but progress must be measured if those commitments are to endure. The plan recognises that its wider ambitions will only be achieved if meaningful progress is made for children and young people with cancer, yet teenagers and young adults are too often hidden within broader datasets, despite facing distinct challenges around diagnosis, treatment, long-term side effects and psychological support.

[Emily Darlington]

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee is launching an inquiry on the fact that many younger people are now being diagnosed with cancer? Does he welcome that inquiry? It will help us to understand more clearly why so many younger people are now experiencing cancer.

[Clive Jones]

Yes, I absolutely welcome the Committee looking at that.

Without transparent reporting and meaningful age-specific data, it becomes difficult to understand whether outcomes for younger patients are improving and where inequalities persist, and whether policy interventions are working. Annual reporting can help ensure that children and young people are not overlooked in future strategies, and that progress continues to be monitored for that important patient group. Data should be broken down by age, including for teenagers and young adults.

Stronger accountability is particularly important because current progress is not where it needs to be. Recent analysis by Cancer Research UK paints a concerning picture. The charity estimates that nearly 1.1 million people will need cancer treatment following an urgent referral between March 2026 and March 2029, yet current trends suggest that the Government’s commitment that 85% of patients will begin treatment within 62 days by March 2029, may not be achieved on time. Indeed, Cancer Research UK estimates that almost 47,000 additional patients would need to start treatment within 62 days in order to meet the target.

Those figures should concern all of us. Waiting for cancer treatment is not simply a matter of statistics—it is weeks of uncertainty, weeks of fear and weeks of wondering whether the cancer is progressing, while patients and families wait for answers. All of that can be extremely stressful for patients and families, as I know from my own experience when I was diagnosed with breast cancer 18 years ago.

Cancer Research UK’s analysis suggests that the Government still have an opportunity to get performance back on track, but only if there is the same focus and sufficient resource directed towards cancer services. The next spending review will be an important opportunity to demonstrate that commitment. The reality is that accountability drives delivery. What gets measured gets managed, what gets reported gets discussed and what gets discussed is more likely to improve.

There is also a broader challenge. More people than ever are surviving cancer or living with cancer, which is something for us all to celebrate. The Government’s ambition is that, by 2035, three quarters of people diagnosed with cancer will be cancer free or living well with cancer five years after their diagnosis. That is a fantastic ambition, but achieving it will require sustained progress across the entire cancer pathway, from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment, recovery and long-term support.