Lord Kamall

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions.

It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean that it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental. The number of reports received cannot be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.

The MHRA can confirm that it has received 124 spontaneous suspected United Kingdom Adverse Drug Reaction reports from 1 January 2014 to, and including, 18 September 2025, where a reaction term within the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities’ (MedDRA) High-Level Term "Sexual Arousal Disorders” was reported. MedDRA is a clinically validated international medical terminology dictionary. It’s organised by System Organ Class, divided into High-Level Group Terms, High-Level Terms, Preferred Terms, and finally into Lowest Level Terms.

The following table shows the number of UK spontaneous suspected Adverse Drug Reaction reports where a reaction within the High-Level Term “Sexual Arousal Disorders” was reported, from 1 January 2014 to, and including, 18 September 2025, by year:

In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of these reports by suspect medicine, for all suspect substances for which we received two or more reports:

Note: please be aware that reports received via the Yellow Card scheme can contain more than one suspect medicine and as such the numbers in the table cannot be summed up to the total number of reports.

Suspect substances for which a single report was received were amitriptyline, amoxycillin, atomoxetine, canagliflozin, candesartan, ciprofloxacin, clavulanic acid, clobetasol, clonazepam, diazepam, donepezil, doxycycline, drospirenone, dutasteride, elasomeran, estradiol, etonogestrel, flucloxacillin, flupenthixol, ibutamoren, levonorgestrel, linagliptin, mefloquine, methylphenidate, metronidazole, minoxidil, norelgestromin, pramipexole, propranolol, quetiapine, reboxetine, risperidone, ropinirole, sildenafil, solifenacin, teriparatide, tirzepatide, tramadol, ulipristal, and varenicline.

The Minister of State for Care is currently having discussions with NHS England and Department officials about the funding arrangements for children and young people’s hospices in 2026/27. We hope to be able to provide further communication on this later in the year.

Locally employed doctor (LED) is a catch-all term used to refer to doctors employed by a National Health Service trust that are not on one of the nationally negotiated contracts. LEDs do not work in formal or approved training posts and as such are not funded centrally by NHS England for any specialty.

There are some individual NHS trusts that support LEDs through alternative training pathways, mainly in core training in medicine, anaesthetics and surgery. Data on this would only be available at trust level and is not collected or held centrally.

NHS England has published the LED Blueprint for Change. This outlines a set of targeted high impact actions for Trusts to use to enhance opportunities for training, skills improvement, career pathways and progression to support professional development for LEDs. It has been shaped by LEDs and other key stakeholders including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, General Medical Council, NHS Employers and British Medical Association.

Locally employed doctor (LED) is a catch-all term used to refer to doctors employed by a National Health Service trust that are not on one of the nationally negotiated contracts. LEDs do not work in formal or approved training posts and as such are not funded centrally by NHS England for any specialty.

There are some individual NHS trusts that support LEDs through alternative training pathways, mainly in core training in medicine, anaesthetics and surgery. Data on this would only be available at trust level and is not collected or held centrally.

NHS England has published the LED Blueprint for Change. This outlines a set of targeted high impact actions for Trusts to use to enhance opportunities for training, skills improvement, career pathways and progression to support professional development for LEDs. It has been shaped by LEDs and other key stakeholders including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, General Medical Council, NHS Employers and British Medical Association.

Keeping data safe and secure and ensuring patient and public privacy remain key principles of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS). The public will retain a right to opt out of specific uses of their data beyond their direct care, and these opt-outs will be respected with the implementation of HDRS.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for undertaking health needs assessments, including any data collection, to understand the health and wellbeing needs of their local populations, including identifying inequalities and planning services accordingly. NHS England has issued guidance to ICBs on developing an intelligence function to ensure locally tailored, evidence-based decisions are made that address health inequalities and support personalised, population-focused care planning.

The 10 Year Health Plan shifts care from hospitals into communities, with neighbourhood health services led by multidisciplinary teams offering preventative and personalised support closer to where people live with increased access to services and information for people with allergies and long-term health conditions.

The plan also commits expanding the use of digital technology. By 2035, two thirds of outpatient care will take place digitally or in the community closer to home, with patients, including those with allergies and long-term conditions, able to access the best of their local hospital in a much more responsive way at home via their phones.

The Government is committed to ensuring that fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the 10-Year Health Plan sets out our intention to publish a CVD modern service framework in 2026. Work to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check programme is ongoing and will inform the development of the CVD modern service framework. This will set out the best evidenced interventions, clear quality standards, and a plan for innovation.

Department officials are carefully considering the recommendations from the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report, Progress in preventing cardiovascular disease, and we will respond to the four recommendations made by the NAO in their report by the end of this year.

The role of biomedical scientists is critical to the delivery of the Government’s overarching ambitions for National Health Service recovery, and to deliver on the strategic shift of moving care from the hospital to the community. The Government and NHS England have ensured that their views and input have been sought to inform the development and delivery of policy, including on diagnostic services.

The pathology professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science, are key stakeholders in NHS England’s pathology transformation and diagnostics programmes. They are represented on programme boards and working groups, and there is a strong track record of joint working, including national engagement events on topics such as sustainability, modernising histopathology services, and digital transformation. This engagement is helping to shape policy and delivery, including the delivery of community diagnostic services, to ensure equitable access to high-quality diagnostics outside of hospital settings.

With more than 270,000 contributions, the engagement the Government undertook to inform the 10-Year Health Plan was the biggest ever national conversation in the history of the NHS. Organisations representing the biomedical science sector played an important part in it. We received consultation responses from a number of these organisations, including The Institute of Biomedical Science and Royal College of Pathologists, who we undertook specific engagement with through our Partners’ Council.

All of this input fed directly into our policy making process, and insights from the engagement are embedded throughout the plan. As NHS England prepares to deliver the Government’s health ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, professional bodies, alongside other key stakeholders, will continue to play an important role in informing the implementation of priority programmes.

Biomedical scientists are increasingly working at the top of their licence, supported by digital pathology and laboratory automation that improves workflow and turnaround times. They provide governance and quality oversight for community point-of-care testing, outside of hospital settings linked to community diagnostic centres and hub laboratories, with advanced and consultant-level roles developing where appropriate.

Decisions on the availability of trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. NHS England, and previously Health Education England, have, however, supported advanced specialist diplomas and other advanced training for biomedical scientists, with further information on this available on the Institute of Biomedical Science’s website, in an online only format.

The Government will be publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

The role of biomedical scientists is critical to the delivery of the Government’s overarching ambitions for National Health Service recovery, and to deliver on the strategic shift of moving care from the hospital to the community. The Government and NHS England have ensured that their views and input have been sought to inform the development and delivery of policy, including on diagnostic services.

The pathology professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science, are key stakeholders in NHS England’s pathology transformation and diagnostics programmes. They are represented on programme boards and working groups, and there is a strong track record of joint working, including national engagement events on topics such as sustainability, modernising histopathology services, and digital transformation. This engagement is helping to shape policy and delivery, including the delivery of community diagnostic services, to ensure equitable access to high-quality diagnostics outside of hospital settings.

With more than 270,000 contributions, the engagement the Government undertook to inform the 10-Year Health Plan was the biggest ever national conversation in the history of the NHS. Organisations representing the biomedical science sector played an important part in it. We received consultation responses from a number of these organisations, including The Institute of Biomedical Science and Royal College of Pathologists, who we undertook specific engagement with through our Partners’ Council.

All of this input fed directly into our policy making process, and insights from the engagement are embedded throughout the plan. As NHS England prepares to deliver the Government’s health ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, professional bodies, alongside other key stakeholders, will continue to play an important role in informing the implementation of priority programmes.

Biomedical scientists are increasingly working at the top of their licence, supported by digital pathology and laboratory automation that improves workflow and turnaround times. They provide governance and quality oversight for community point-of-care testing, outside of hospital settings linked to community diagnostic centres and hub laboratories, with advanced and consultant-level roles developing where appropriate.

Decisions on the availability of trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. NHS England, and previously Health Education England, have, however, supported advanced specialist diplomas and other advanced training for biomedical scientists, with further information on this available on the Institute of Biomedical Science’s website, in an online only format.

The Government will be publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

The role of biomedical scientists is critical to the delivery of the Government’s overarching ambitions for National Health Service recovery, and to deliver on the strategic shift of moving care from the hospital to the community. The Government and NHS England have ensured that their views and input have been sought to inform the development and delivery of policy, including on diagnostic services.

The pathology professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science, are key stakeholders in NHS England’s pathology transformation and diagnostics programmes. They are represented on programme boards and working groups, and there is a strong track record of joint working, including national engagement events on topics such as sustainability, modernising histopathology services, and digital transformation. This engagement is helping to shape policy and delivery, including the delivery of community diagnostic services, to ensure equitable access to high-quality diagnostics outside of hospital settings.

With more than 270,000 contributions, the engagement the Government undertook to inform the 10-Year Health Plan was the biggest ever national conversation in the history of the NHS. Organisations representing the biomedical science sector played an important part in it. We received consultation responses from a number of these organisations, including The Institute of Biomedical Science and Royal College of Pathologists, who we undertook specific engagement with through our Partners’ Council.

All of this input fed directly into our policy making process, and insights from the engagement are embedded throughout the plan. As NHS England prepares to deliver the Government’s health ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, professional bodies, alongside other key stakeholders, will continue to play an important role in informing the implementation of priority programmes.

Biomedical scientists are increasingly working at the top of their licence, supported by digital pathology and laboratory automation that improves workflow and turnaround times. They provide governance and quality oversight for community point-of-care testing, outside of hospital settings linked to community diagnostic centres and hub laboratories, with advanced and consultant-level roles developing where appropriate.

Decisions on the availability of trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. NHS England, and previously Health Education England, have, however, supported advanced specialist diplomas and other advanced training for biomedical scientists, with further information on this available on the Institute of Biomedical Science’s website, in an online only format.

The Government will be publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible. We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. Whilst no specific assessment has been made regarding dementia diagnosis rates, we expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the services will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and/or deprived inner cities.

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

The Department is committed to funding health and care research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) across England, to ensure that the research we support is inclusive and representative of the populations we serve.

In 2024, the NIHR made equity, diversity, and inclusion a condition of funding for all domestic research awards. This means applicants must demonstrate how their research will contribute towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities, with a focus on participant inclusion from diverse populations of the United Kingdom.

NIHR research infrastructure has national coverage across the whole of England. Our infrastructure schemes aim to build research capacity and capability across the country, across all geographies and settings. In line with prior commitments, the Department has increased funding for NIHR research infrastructure schemes delivering cancer research outside the Greater South East, including Biomedical Research Centres, Clinical Research Facilities, and HealthTech Research Centres.

Through the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN), the NIHR provides funding to 100% of National Health Service trusts in England to deliver research, operating across 12 regions throughout the country. From 2026/27, the RDN will adopt a new national funding model for NHS support costs and research delivery. This will be a consistent, nationally agreed funding distribution model across all regions of England and will reduce regional variation in health research delivery investment. This aims to reduce inequity in research delivery across all therapy and geography areas, including in underserved areas and settings.

The NIHR also provides an online service called Be Part of Research which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.

NHS England wrote to the National Health Service providers’ chief financial officers and research and development directors on 30 May 2025, requiring them to ensure all commercial trial activities are invoiced in a timely manner. A copy of this correspondence is attached.

NHS England is currently holding a series of round tables to explore the challenges facing some NHS providers in maintaining good financial management for research, and this includes invoicing. The outcome of these roundtables will be the revision and strengthening of NHS England’s Research Finance Guidance, which was first published in 2024.

The Government publishes United Kingdom-wide data on clinical research delivery performance through the Department’s UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) Key Performance Indicator Report. This monthly report brings together data from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to monitor system-wide progress in the delivery of globally competitive clinical research across the UK. Alongside this reporting, the Department also publishes National Health Service trust level data on the study set-up performance of sites in England.

The Health and Care Act 2022 sets legal duties for integrated care boards (ICBs) in relation to research, and these duties include requirements to include research in ICB joint forward plans and reports. The Department and NHS England are currently developing plans for the future structure and functions of ICBs and regions and this includes consideration of where governance for research will sit. In May, NHS England wrote a letter to NHS providers requiring board-level reporting of research activity and income, with scrutiny of the UKCRD programme’s site-level performance metrics for study set-up. A copy of this correspondence is attached. NHS England will publish revised guidance on financial management for research later in 2025.

Regional pilots such as the Targeted Lung Health Check can be used to build an evidence base and inform decisions regarding screening. However, the Department is guided on screening policy by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). This is an independent scientific advisory committee and makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process.

Regional screening initiatives would only be rolled out nationally when they followed a UK NSC recommendation based on scientific evidence that showed the programme would do more good than harm at reasonable cost.

The Department and NHS England are taking a number of steps to support the National Health Service to deliver cost-effective, lifesaving prehabilitation and rehabilitation services.

Local planning for prehabilitation and rehabilitation services is a matter for NHS trusts and Cancer Alliances to take forward in their local areas. NHS England has highlighted the positive impact of efficient prehabilitation and rehabilitation on cancer outcomes and the potential to lead to cost savings. The ‘PRosPer’ Cancer Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation learning programme, launched in partnership between NHS England and Macmillan Cancer support, aims to support allied health professionals and the wider healthcare workforce in developing their skills in providing prehabilitation and rehabilitation, including in areas such as exercise, nutrition, and wellbeing support.

The Government and NHS England recognise that for most people living with long term conditions, including people living with cancer, physical activity is safe and can support recovery after treatment and promote quality of life. The NHS is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients in England have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support.

Our 10-Year Health Plan for England has set out a series of national actions to address the major risk factors associated with cancer. The National Cancer Plan, due to be published later this year, will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The plan will seek to reduce cancer risk factors, including smoking, and will include further detail about how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients.

The 10-Year Health Plan also committed to ensuring all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care. Within their 2025/26 allocations, integrated care boards have access to funding in order to support the rollout of tobacco dependency treatment services in hospital settings, including acute and mental health inpatient settings and maternity services. Future funding decisions, including any decision to expand tobacco dependency treatment services to additional settings beyond routine care, are subject to the Spending Review process.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including non-hearing children. Auditory verbal therapy is one of a range of approaches that can be used with deaf babies and children.

NHS England and the Department for Education are co-funding £10 million over two years in nine Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinder sites to improve early identification, universal and targeted support for speech, language and communication needs in early years and primary schools, with quicker referrals to specialist services when needed.

Delivering services that will raise the healthiest generation of children ever begins with its people. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

There are no current plans to allow patients to directly nominate a distance selling pharmacy (DSP) from within the NHS App. A discovery exercise completed in January 2025 explored this option and concluded that within the current landscape of DSPs there are several challenges that could impact user experience and timely access to medicines. This has been communicated to relevant DSP stakeholders.

The NHS App supports seamless pharmacy services by allowing patients to order repeat prescriptions, nominate their preferred pharmacy, and manage their medication. A new prescription tracker feature means that nearly 1,500 pharmacies are now offering the new prescription tracking service through the NHS App, which provides updates on when prescriptions are ready to be collected. Work has also commenced on an ‘in App’ notification which will enhance this feature further.

On 7 April 2025 the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service, co-designed through engagement with the public and patients, data users, and stakeholder organisations.

Providing access to data for direct care purposes is not one of the Health Data Research Service’s planned capabilities. The Health Data Research Service will deliver a single point of access to health data for research from multiple sources, National Health Service and non-NHS. This service will bring new treatments and cures to patients by safely enabling the use of patient data to super-charge research, attracting investment and making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to conduct ground-breaking medical research.

The Health Data Research Service will be delivered across the UK to provide a single, integrated system for approved researchers across all sectors to access health, social care, and public health data safely. The service will streamline and simplify current processes, ensuring the safety and security of the data, allowing researchers to spend less time talking to different NHS bodies around the country and more time unlocking new insights that will transform our understanding of health.

NHS England has written to National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards, and primary care networks to reiterate their responsibilities to their staff as employers, including providing pastoral support where required. Importantly, NHS England has also written directly to staff most affected by the recommendations, in the Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review), available on the NHS.UK website, setting out where they can find support if required.

Implementing the recommendations will require organisations to work together and take action. Some actions will be implemented immediately, whilst others will require wider input, with benefits being fully realised over time. The Department and NHS England will work to ensure that both patient and staff needs are met throughout this process. We will also work collaboratively with other key partners to set out a clear implementation plan for making the required changes, in advance of publishing a fuller response.

According to the latest published data from May 2025, there are 28,250 full time equivalent (FTE) fully qualified general practitioners (GPs). The corresponding headcount figure is 38,868.

Compared to May 2024, there has been a net increase of 601 FTE fully qualified GPs in May 2025. The net increase in headcount over the same period is 1,293.

Data on the number of vacancies is not held centrally.

According to the latest published data from May 2025, there are 28,250 full time equivalent (FTE) fully qualified general practitioners (GPs). The corresponding headcount figure is 38,868.

Compared to May 2024, there has been a net increase of 601 FTE fully qualified GPs in May 2025. The net increase in headcount over the same period is 1,293.

Data on the number of vacancies is not held centrally.

According to the latest published data from May 2025, there are 28,250 full time equivalent (FTE) fully qualified general practitioners (GPs). The corresponding headcount figure is 38,868.

Compared to May 2024, there has been a net increase of 601 FTE fully qualified GPs in May 2025. The net increase in headcount over the same period is 1,293.

Data on the number of vacancies is not held centrally.

Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.

Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.

Health and care professionals and other staff responsible for caring for patients within health and social care organisations will be able to access their single patient records under strict role-based access controls. Other Government organisations and public bodies will not have corporate access to the single patient record. The record will be protected by the highest standards of security, with a robust audit trail for patients of who has accessed their record.

The geography of neighbourhoods should be determined locally by integrated care boards in partnership with their strategic partners, particularly local authorities. The Government aims to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community as we shift from hospital to community. Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in areas with the greatest need, for instance where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including coastal towns and communities with higher deprivation levels. Wherever possible, we will maximise value for money by repurposing poorly used, existing National Health Service and public sector estates. The Department is also currently writing a business case on Public Private Partnerships for Neighbourhood Health Centres for review as part of the Autumn Budget.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a Neighbourhood Health Centre when needed, and only in a hospital if necessary. The Neighbourhood Health Service will mean millions of patients are treated and cared for closer to home by new teams of professionals. We have launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme to support systems across the country to test new ways of working, share learning, and scale what works. This programme will inform future strategy and policy development, and outcome metrics will be rigorously monitored.

To support neighbourhood health, we will introduce two new contracts, with roll-out beginning next year, one of which will create neighbourhood providers that deliver enhanced services for groups with similar needs over a footprint of approximately 50,000 people. In many areas, existing groups of general practices will be well placed to take on these contracts.

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) operates an accredited voluntary register scheme for professions not subject to statutory regulation.

The Government values the scheme and the PSA quality mark demonstrates a register’s commitment to high standards of care and provides assurance around professional standards and ethical behaviours.

The scheme covers voluntary registers across a range of professions, including a number relating to counselling and psychotherapy.

The NHS.UK website sets out that professionals must be on one of the PSA’s accredited registers in order to work as a counsellor in the National Health Service.

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) operates an accredited voluntary register scheme for professions not subject to statutory regulation.

The Government values the scheme and the PSA quality mark demonstrates a register’s commitment to high standards of care and provides assurance around professional standards and ethical behaviours.

The scheme covers voluntary registers across a range of professions, including a number relating to counselling and psychotherapy.

The NHS.UK website sets out that professionals must be on one of the PSA’s accredited registers in order to work as a counsellor in the National Health Service.

To support the delivery of this ambition, the Department, through NHS England, has put in place new national service specifications, covering both Principal Treatment Centres and the associated Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) Designated Hospital provision, and has established networks to oversee pathways of care, coordinate clinical trial access, and develop local strategies to increase clinical trial recruitment. Alongside this, NHS England has also introduced a metric to monitor trial participation within the TYA Cancer Quality Dashboard.

The Department does not hold data on the overall percentage of children and young people with cancer that are enrolled into clinical trials nationwide but does collect data on general participation through National Institute for Health and Care Research) funded research infrastructure. The Department reports on this data where it is appropriate to do so.

Since it’s relaunch in February 2025, the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been exploring ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer, including by improving access to research. The National Cancer Plan, due for publication later this year, will set out further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including young people.