National Cancer Plan

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. Members will know that this statement is on a very important, sensitive and sometimes personal subject, but I remind them that after this we have two debates that are also important, so please keep questions short.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

Further to the exchanges about radiotherapy, I understand that the national figure for access to radiotherapy is 53%, which itself does not seem particularly high. However, the figure for my Brigg and Immingham constituency, which falls in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, is only 35%. Could the Minister give some assurance to my constituents about progress on increasing that figure, and when does she think we can reach the national average?

[Ashley Dalton]

Through the spending review, providers have been allocated £15 billion in operational capital for local priorities and £5 billion to support the return to constitutional standards on radiotherapy. Responsibility for purchasing new machines sits at local level, and we expect local systems to continue to invest in new machines to meet the ambitious targets and to meet their local needs.