Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £70 million allocated in the Autumn Budget 2024 for new linear accelerator (LINAC) machines has been spent to date; how many new LINAC machines have been procured with that funding; what is the location of those new LINAC machines; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those deployments on the level of patient care.

The £70 million investment is in the process of being spent, machines have been ordered, and they are being rolled out across the country, with some treating patients already. These 28 new, cutting-edge machines will reduce waiting times and provide 15% more treatments allowing 27,500 extra patients to be treated every year. This means more equal access and better outcomes for cancer patients across England.

The new radiotherapy machines are located at: Addenbrooke’s Hospital; Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital; Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre at Bristol Royal Infirmary; Charing Cross Hospital; The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, in the Withington Site; Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, in the Liverpool Site; Colchester General Hospital; Derriford Hospital; Freeman Hospital; Guy’s Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital; Hereford County Hospital; James Cook University Hospital; Kent and Canterbury Hospital; Lincoln County Hospital; North Middlesex University Hospital; Northampton General Hospital; Nottingham City Hospital; Royal Berkshire Hospital; Royal Cornwall Hospital; Royal Derby Hospital; Royal Marsden Hospital, in Sutton, Surrey; Royal Preston Hospital; Royal Surrey Hospital; Southend University Hospital; St Bartholomew’s Hospital; University College Hospital; Weston Park Cancer Centre; and Worcestershire Royal Hospital. In addition, four trusts, namely University Hospitals Birmingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, Southend, and Hereford and Gloucestershire, have received a contribution towards the cost of bunker refurbishment.