Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of increasing domestic NHS proton beam therapy on value for money in the NHS.

The Department does not have data on proton beam therapy commissioning costs, including overseas referrals, and has not compared the cost to NHS England of providing this treatment in England or the United Kingdom versus abroad. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of increasing the availability of proton beam therapy. Treatment for cancer is highly individualised and decisions about cancer treatment are typically made by clinicians and multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals.