Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase radiotherapy cancer treatment (a) capacity and (b) access in England.

In 2022/23, NHS England intends to undertake a capacity and demand review of external beam radiotherapy capacity to support local systems to plan radiotherapy provision, including the replacement of equipment.

The NHS Long Term Plan commits to review the payment arrangements for radiotherapy to ensure that appropriate incentives are in place to encourage providers to increase access to new treatments and techniques and upgrade and replace equipment. While this has been delayed due to the pandemic, it is expected to be in place from April 2023.