Rare Cancers Bill

Lord Randall of Uxbridge Excerpts

Friday 16th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Con)]

My Lords, I am humbled to follow the noble Lord, Lord Mendelsohn, and the previous contributions. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Elliott of Whitburn Bay, and Dr Scott Arthur MP on the Bill.

I do not know much about all this, so noble Lords might wonder why I am speaking in this debate, which seemed to me to be something for people with knowledge, specialities or personal experience. It is because of two of my former constituents. One is Councillor Becky Haggar, a former Mayor of Hillingdon, whose husband sadly passed away from cancer; she set up the Hillingdon Brain Tumour & Injury Charity. The other is another Hillingdon resident who has been in constant communication with me—and in such a kind way considering, as far as I can see, her son is going through terrible treatment. I told her, “I’m going to speak in this debate because I want to give support. I’m not an expert; I just want people to know that they have my support”. I told her that I would have four minutes to speak and asked, “What’s the most important thing to say?” She said, “Appoint a national specialty lead”. Advocates, along with Brain Cancer Justice, want a national cancer lead as an essential element of this Bill.

Speaking of brain tumours—there are others, I know—and their complexity, she said, “It’s vital that the Government’s appointee fully understands brain cancer and other rare cancers to prevent them being overlooked, especially since brain cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among children and people under 40”. An immediate nomination and appointment are urgently needed as patients cannot afford to wait. This should be a top priority integrated into the national cancer plan. Data shows that, although 20% of research funding goes to rare cancers, they account for around 40% of cancer deaths. So, given their complexity, brain cancers must not be overlooked when the UK Government launch initiatives such as the NHS’s national cancer vaccine launch pad.

We must also have awareness campaigns. The fact is that, very often, most of these people just present to A&E as an emergency; in fact, 40% to 60% of diagnoses are done after presentation to A&E. As we have heard from noble Lords previously—and as we will presumably hear from noble Lords after me—there are two things to say here. First, on the urgency of this, I urge noble Lords not to put down any amendments if that would make this process go on for longer than we would like. We know how it works, as we have seen before in Private Members’ Bills.

The other thing that comes through, plainly, is hope. No doubt there are people throughout the country who have just been given a devastating prognosis as we have been speaking. We do not know where—it could be among us here—but there will certainly be some such cases. This Bill may not be the answer, but it will give hope, so I offer it my full support.